Inevitably Ours
by perFANfection
Summary: The Bella's (mostly Chloe) helps Beca raise her baby after her 'inevitable' marriage with Jesse falls through, leaving her pregnant, scared and clueless. But when Chloe falls ill, can Beca help take care of her and balance motherhood on her own? (Repost but mostly same content as last time) Find out what happens when a sick Bella, a child, and an angry ex fight for one person.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay ladies," Chloe smiled, glaring at all of the Bella's after practice.

They were all about to surprise Beca and Jesse at the Bella's home, on the occasion that the two were returning from their honeymoon.

"What are we doing on the stairs outside of Beca's and Amy's room of the house?" Cynthia Rose asked.

"I told you. We were going to surprise her and Jesse when they get back from their honeymoon. They're home now."

"They got married six months ago. I thought that's when you were supposed to honeymoon and, you know…do the inevitable. Like me, you know?" Stacie was implying.

"You guys, this will be fun. We're gonna go inside and surprise the sh..." Chloe starts enthusiastically.

"Sh...oot me." Cynthia Rose mumbled, interrupting Chloe.

"C'mon guys! This is gonna be aca-awesome!" Emily rooted, swinging her arm above her head and Cynthia rose lowered it, shaking her head.

"No offense legacy, but I still think you're pretty dumb, no matter how much I love you." Fat Amy whispered to her.

"Okay guys," Chloe lowered her voice.

Chloe slowly climbed up the steps and stared around the stairwell, looking into the room above. Rather than finding them curled up, watching movies on Beca's laptop, the Bella's only looked to see Beca laying sideways, halfway off her bed, moaning as she leaned over her puke bowl. Jesse sat behind her, his back against the wall, rubbing her back and running his hands through her hair in attempt to catch it and keep it back.

"This was inevitable, and you had to see this coming along with it." Jesse lectured her.

"You were right. No more foreign food." Beca groaned, rolling over.

"She looks aca-awful." Cynthia Rose noted.

"I ate bad foreign food at county." Lily whispered.

"We should go." Chloe whispered, motioning the other Bella's to creep back down the stairs.

 **-xxx-**

"Bec, you feeling alright?" Chloe asks as Beca stumbles into the kitchen, her hair snarled into a nest and Beca croaked a small "Ugh", annoyed by the ginger's persistence of always asking if she was okay, even if it was out of the innocence and good nature of Chloe's heart to always be genuinely concerned for her.

"I don't feel good." Beca mutters, sitting herself down at the counter and Chloe sets her cup down in front of her, and reaches across the table to feel Beca's forehead.

"Still? It's been a week." Chloe asks walking over to her.

"Yeah well, morning sickness tends to do that to ya." She scowls inaudibly to herself, making sure Chloe couldn't hear.

"You feel warm Becs. You're not going anywhere." Chloe continues in her motherly tones.

"No really! I'm swearing off foreign food for the time being." Beca groans and Chloe just rolls her eyes.

"You probably just have a bug or something, it has nothing to do with the food i'm sure."

"It has everything to do with food, me throwing up, because I can't keep anything down." Beca grumbles to herself again.

Chloe walks back over and stirs her coffee, blows on it, then briskly waves her hand over it as she slides it to Beca, who objects, and slides it back, unintentionally seeming to be difficult.

"Beca you gotta eat, or at least drink something."

"Ugh, all you're doing is nagging! You're lucky you're that pretty." Beca insists crankily, and Chloe blushes, ignoring the insult.

"All i'm saying is you need to eat something!" Chloe calls, now from the bathroom, examining herself in the mirror.

Suddenly, Beca feels herself choking down bile, every muscle in her throat trying to keep it down, and she stands up, throwing the chair out from behind her and running to the bathroom, pushing a surprised Chloe to the side as she lifts the toilet seat and kneels down over it. When she's done, Chloe drops Beca's hair from her grip and helps the small brunette stand, throwing her arm around Beca's back and Beca's arm around her shoulder, carrying her smaller friend back up the stairs to bed before going back to the bathroom to get ready for the Bella's convention performance.

 **-XXX-**

Emily Junk had only been living in the Bella's home as a new Bella for a month before she got comfortable enough to participate in the circle of inside jokes the Bella's had to share. Emily, with a considerably larger age difference with the rest, had made a running joke where she called her other Bella's "Mom.". More specifically Beca and Chloe, who had so many differences regarding decisions their younger Bella would make.

Beca tended to be more lenient, as if she was trying to be a sister, while Chloe played more of the role of looking out for Emily's best interest, even if she might get hurt, while still being pretty cool at times. And even the other Bella's were in on this, teasing Beca and Chloe that they were more like a married couple with differences, rather than two, very good friends.

"Hey? Where are Beca and Chloe?" Cynthia Rose asked.

"Those two dumb cops were arguing over Em a bit ago." Fat Amy informed her.

"They're not fighting over me! I'm my own person. They're actually having a discussion over something that happened a few minutes ago, but I have no idea." Emily explained, defending them.

Earlier, Chloe was reaching over to look beneath the cabinet, exasperatedly took out an almost empty box of tampons, containing only but two, and the ginger knew it could only be Beca.

"Oh look! You left me almost nothing again! When will you learn..." Chloe begins to Beca in the other room but pauses, then glances down, realizing that there was another, unopened box below the sink, unlike the one in her hand, holding only but the two tampons inside left over from last 's when it occurred to her that Beca was late.

They were always in sync,within a week, and usually Beca used almost the entire box and forgot to restock. There was never usually an unopened box, just one open box, usually with only a few left in it. It looked as if Beca hadn't used it yet.

"Beca?" She called out to her lazy friend.

"I'll refill it later... I know it was a dirt move to do that." Beca grumbles, laying in a fetal position on Chloe's bed.

"No, it's not that! You haven't used any at all this month!"

"Chloe, you're sending mixed messages here. Aren't you usually mad because I don't leave you any? And now you're mad because there is a whole box full?"

"Beca?" Chloe asks, coming out of the bathroom, holding up the box in her hand.

"What's this about? So there's an entire box of tampons. I know, i'm the greatest 'cause I remembered." Beca replies smugly.

"No, you didn't and it's not that! It's the fact that you always get yours before me! Beca, are you... pregnant?" Chloe asks, hushing her voice.

"No, I just haven't gotten it yet! How dare you accuse me of something like that." Beca jokingly mocks her.

"Beca," Chloe consoles her.

"You've been sick, you can't stomach anything, you're irritable, and you're even more lazy than usual. You even have a little bit more of a butt." She smirks, glancing over at Beca's backside and Beca turns away, secretly holding in a small smile she didn't want Chloe to notice.

"Beca, why wouldn't you just tell me if you thought you were pregnant?"

"Okay, this is getting crazy." Beca flails her hand up annoyed and rolls over, sitting up and grabbing Chloe's hands in her's, feeling the ginger's tension ease slightly.

"I know you mean well, but you're not my mother. And Chloe, I promise you. Unless Jesse got me pregnant all the way from New York, i'm not pregnant." She adds sarcastically, but also not really convinced herself.

"Okay," Chloe whispers and relaxes, smiling as she stood up and went back to the bathroom.

Beca felt guilty, but sighed with relief, being able to hold off throwing any curve balls at the ginger or other Bella's until after the finals were over, giving Beca enough time to figure out her feelings to everything being thrown her way.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mom?!" Emily wailed from below the staircase.

Chloe was in her room, typing her paper for Russian Lit, for what felt like the millionth time, which was somewhat true considering she intentionally was failing it for the third time. Chloe immediately grew concerned and stopped typing to glance at Beca, who was lying soundly on Chloe's bed. Beca shook her head and smirked at Chloe.

"Uh-oh, lady drama! You're turn." She mutters sarcastically, grinning mischievously at the ginger.

Chloe closed her laptop and walked down the stairs to see Emily resting at the bottom, her hands pressed to her face, in her lap.

"Em, what's wrong?" Chloe asks concerned.

"It's so bad. So bad! I'm… I…" Emily was only able to mutter out those few words in between sobs, but Chloe, sensing her heartbreak, motioned Emily back up the stairs to her room.

Chloe and Emily sit cross legged together on Em's bed. Emily cries and leans sideways into Chloe, and Chloe holds Emily's head in a side hug, brushing her hair from her face.

"I hate myself." Emily grumbles through her tears.

"Tell me, what's this about?" Chloe consoles her.

"If Jesse left Beca because she's pregnant, why wouldn't my boyfriend do the same if I ever did? He said he wouldn't but he keeps leaving me every time we get into a little argument."

"Jesse didn't leave Beca, he got a job opportunity for temporarily. He promised he'd be back."

"But I thought…"

"Wait pregnant? Who told you that?" Chloe interrupts her.

"I found the test in the trash, after Beca wrapped it up in one of Stacie's magazines." Emily says without a blink.

"That dirty bird! She told me she wasn't pregnant. I knew I should've trusted my gut!" Chloe angrily mutters to herself.

Emily, obviously less concerned about Beca lying about not being pregnant than Chloe, who suspected it all along, shrugged it off and continued to sob into Chloe.

"What if he doesn't come back? What if i'm not good enough this time for him to want me?"

"Em, you're beautiful. You are worth fighting for and it's too bad he can't see that. I'll tell you what. Just give him three days. Wait three days, no texts, no calls, no nothing. Then see if he comes back."

"What if I can't what three days?" Emily whimpers.

"You see the thing is, you keep running back to him and he gets off on it because you forgive him after your little fights. He knows he's gonna have you coming back to him. Why not give him three days and make him realize that this is serious. He's really losing you."

"And what if he doesn't even come back?" Emily whimpers.

"Then why would you wanna be with someone that doesn't want you? Why would you wanna be with someone like that?" Chloe asks, redirecting the question on Emily to make a point.

Emily looks up sheepishly, giving the ginger an approving look. Chloe returns the grin and they both stand up, wrapping tightly into a hug and Chloe rubs her back.

"Go get him tiger." Chloe encourages her and Emily smiles as she backs out of the room.

"Wait, Emily Merizalde Junk! Did you say, 'think' you were pregnant?" Chloe questions her.

"Aca- scuse me? No…" Emily blushes, avoiding the question as she rushes out.

 **-XXX-**

"Hey Jesse." Beca moans through her phone, while lying in bed.

"How are things? Is the baby alright?"

"Yeah... I mean, I think so." She answered awkwardly. Silence.

"Beca, I think we both know why I really called."

"No, why?" Beca asks, caught off guard by Jesse's sudden change of tone.

"Beca, I can't come back, I don't want to. I want you to come here with me. They offered me a permanent job and they even offered to set us up in an apartment, house, or whatever there is close to work and you can intern at the radio station downtown."

"Jesse,"

"No, really!" He pleas.

"Um, I can't just leave! And we have to think about our decisions based off us as a family now! And I can't leave Chloe and the other Bella's when finals are just around the corner."

"Why not! You, me and the baby in New York…"

"Jesse I would love to but no! I can't just move and change things around suddenly without discussing it. We're having a baby now! We have bigger responsibilities. And a New York apartment isn't exactly ideal for raising a family. I'm sorry but no."

"No?" Jesse repeats offended.

"Jesse i'm sorry, but i'm less than eight months from graduation and finals. And heck, I'm due a week after each of those! This couldn't be a worse time to move ourselves in together."

"What about after graduation? I thought we had a plan."

"Yeah, but then I got pregnant! Jesse, i'm sorry but I don't know anymore."

"But Bec! We were set on finally being a married couple. Why would you just change that? Don't you think you should do what's best for all of us and not just you?"

"Look, i've gotta go. We can talk about this later. I love you." Beca mumbles as she holds back her tears, not wanting to discuss the matter anymore, and can't believe what's been said.

 **-XXX-**

"All right, i'm calling it!" Chloe says boldly, clapping her hands together at the conclusion of their rehearsals.

"It's about time! Beca was barely focused at all today." Cynthia Rose mutters to the others.

"Not focused? She was a half step behind so I stepped on her and she vomited after hula- hoops." Fat Amy concludes.

After everyone files out, Chloe walks over to the piano where Beca was working on arrangements.

"Hey Bec, awesome job today." She smiles.

"Yeah, awes. If I was supposed to vomit in Lily's hula hoop." She says sarcastically, shooting Chloe a look of disapproval.

"Oh um Beca? Did you finally get your um...?" Chloe hints quietly, looking behind Beca and covering her with her sweatshirt, tying it firmly around her waist.

Beca looks down in horror, stuttering as everything she (thought she had) hidden from the ginger came pour out in one long senseless confession, stringing together all the little details that should have been obvious to Chloe before but instead flew over her head for the longest time.

Beca begins to cry and falls forward, flailing her arms around Chloe and the ginger immediately comforted her despite not knowing what exactly caused it. Whispering in her ear, Chloe hushes her.

"No, it's okay." Chloe whispers, her hand on the back of Beca's head, which was nuzzled into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Beca stammered again and again through her tears, feeling weak from confessing, actually breaking down her walls, to allow the ginger to comfort her after her surprising reaction.

"This isn't about Jesse, is it?"

Beca shakes her head.

"You don't have to tell me anything. But if you wanna talk, know that i'm always here."

Beca shaking, looks up at Chloe and the motherly instincts she always felt toward Beca and Emily immediately told her to take Beca tighter in her arms, comforting her every sob.

"Even if this baby doesn't make it...?" She whimpers, looking up at Chloe, and forgetting she might not know.

Chloe pushes the matted hair from the brunette's face and lowered Beca's hands from wiping her face, then put her hands on Beca's shoulders, talking calmly directly into Beca's face.

"Beca relax, i've kinda suspected it already. But from the minute I suspected it, I knew. This baby, was inevitably 's what he or she was supposed to be. And if he or she is gone, at least we've been brought closer. And that's all I could ever ask. To be closer to my bestest friend. The one who's supposed to help you with this baby since Jesse can't." Chloe says without a doubt, ignoring the surprising confession as if it didn't catch her off guard.

"Well, you saw me naked." Beca smirked, wiping her tears and Chloe returns their shared smile.

"But Beca, I need you to always be honest with me. Why wouldn't you just tell me you were pregnant?"

"You know, i'm weird about that stuff."

"It doesn't have to be weird. If you would've just told me rather than have me find out through Emily…"

"I know, and i'm are just crazy messy with Jesse right now and..." Beca stammers shyly.

"Beca, don't worry about it. It's inevitable, and out of our control."

Beca, ashamed that she lied to her best friend, felt guilty that Chloe was so understanding, and she felt so dirty for lying. The girls glance at each other and hug, then look up at each other with the sudden realization that Beca's pants still had a small blood stain on the back.

"Beca, the bleeding." Chloe reminds her, grabbing her arm and walking her out of the building.

"Oh Chloe, we've gotta go." Beca says, as her sobs pick up once again getting into Chloe's car and pulls the seat belt over her barely expanded baby bump.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, what up shawshank?" Fat Amy asks from the kitchen counter as she and Stacie sort out their mail.

"Hey Bec, Jesse called a few minutes ago asking for you. Why didn't you have your phone with you? He was asking where you were and sounded kind of tense." Emily informs her.

"What?! Em, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Beca asks as she briskly swipes the phone from Emily's hand.

As the phone rings, Beca goes to her room, slamming the bedroom door and begins tapping her nails against her desk.

"Hey Beca, how are you? The baby, is he or she okay?"

"The baby's fine. It was just a scare." Beca reassures him bitterly.

"Beca, I don't understand. Why are putting up walls again? Is it the hormones?"

"This isn't about the hormones." She snaps.

"Then what is it Beca? Why are you suddenly pushing me away?"

"Because Chloe actually cares.. Actually, never mind."

"No, you don't think I haven't noticed you've been neglecting me for your best friend lately?" He consults her.

"Whoa, what?!" Beca asks, taken by surprise.

"It feels like whenever we try to make a decision about what we want to do, you always base yours around your friendship with Chloe."

"Jesse, you're being ridiculous! It's totally irrational to move halfway across the country when we have a baby on the way and graduation! And I can't leave the Bella's, they're my friends. Don't you think it would be kinda a dirt move to leave them? To leave Chloe?"

"I can't believe you're being selfish! This opportunity is great for the both of us."

Beca angrily stumbles upon her words in her head, trying to find the right response to Jesse's accusation.

"I just don't think we are ready for something this big. I mean Jess, we're practically just kids ourselves! We're just starting out and obviously have no idea what we're doing, admit it!" Beca feels tears stinging the back of her eyes in frustration.

"Well then maybe 'we' were never really ready for this. Maybe I just need to stay here awhile."

"Or you could come home to your wife." She mumbles to herself.

"Beca?" He asks softly, now more calm, and wanting to reason with her.

"Fine," She sighs.

"I wish you the best with your new career. I hope you're happy there." She finishes, feeling guilty that her words came out like daggers even though they were meant with all sincerity.

"Becs, it's only temporary. But, I guess we'll see each other when i'm back." He promises.

"Yeah, if... But for now, Chloe and I will be fine raising 'our' inevitable baby." She whispers to herself as she throws her phone on the floor, walking to her bed and lying with her face under her pillow, hiding her stressed expression.

 **-XXX-**

"My goodness Bec, you're bump is so cute!" Chloe says as she bends down, getting face level with it and puts her hands on each side of Beca's stomach, smiling.

Beca smiles sheepishly and takes a step back, unintentionally pushing the ginger off.

"Chloe," Beca says, trying not to sound annoyed, at the same time blushing furiously.

"Okay, okay, sorry. I'm just so happy for you Becs! And for Baby Bechloe."

Beca smiled, even though she wasn't quite sure how she felt yet towards the ginger's enthusiasm of helping her raise the baby. There was no doubt in Beca's mind that raising this baby with her best friend was an idea Beca was totally in love with, but she feared for her baby's future, without the presence of Jesse as a father figure.

"Baby Bechl...what?" Beca asks amused.

"Yeah, Beca and Chloe. The names are together as one, just like us. Beca, I couldn't ask to be closer to anyone as a best friend than I am to you. "

"Chloe you're crazy... and lucky you're that pretty."

Chloe looks down, trying to hide her remembering blush from Beca, who caught the glance anyway, and laughed at the inside joke they shared. Chloe takes Beca's hands in her and swings them side to side, in and out.

"You ready to go?" She asks, letting go of one hand and pulling Beca out of her room.

"Chloe," Beca groans.

"Beca, we have to go and be assured that everything is fine with the baby. And since Jesse isn't around, I feel that it is my responsibility to take care of you while he's out finding himself or whatever." Chloe persists.

"He's not coming back. And it's not your responsibility! I'm a grown woman." Beca insists.

"Who is too stubborn to admit when she needs help, even when she needs it most."

"Fine." Beca scowls as she waddles out of the room and down the stairs.

"Look how cute you look when you're starting to waddle." Chloe notes.

 **-XXX-**

Beca had planned on telling the Bella's she was pregnant. She really had intended to. But after her appointment with Chloe she had been feeling off, especially with a decision regarding the life of her baby once again at hand.

Chloe sits at the counter on her laptop, booking the flight to the Bella's finals just five months away. Beca in her robe, shuffles into the kitchen, waddling slowly side to side, as if she was overcome by a sudden dizziness. Chloe looks away from her laptop and her face lights up at the sight of Beca making her way into the kitchen.

"Hey Bec, did you get some sleep?" Chloe asks, once again in her motherly tones.

"I don't know that I really can sleep when I have all this stuff flooding my mind." Beca moans.

"Aw Bec. It'll be alright, I promise. And whatever you decide, it'll be okay." Chloe consoles her, pulling her into a hug.

"Then I want to get the amniocentesis." She whispers.

"Okay," Chloe sighs, putting her hands on Beca's arms, then dropping them.

"But Beca, the risks." Chloe warns quietly, not to worry the other Bella's.

"Chloe, as selfish as it seems, I can't live these next five months knowing that something could be wrong with my baby."

"But what would knowing exactly what was wrong change? It definitely wouldn't change the fact that your baby could have a disability."

"I know but,"

"But nothing. I know that if anything happened to you and nothing could be done, that it wouldn't change how I felt about you. So why is this baby different than that? Or different than how we treat Emily like our daughter and something happen to her?"

"It wouldn't. But I just wanna be prepared." Beca sighs.

"And we will be. Go get some rest. We'll let the other Bella's in on what's happening later when we know."

Beca was unsure how she felt about saying no to the test and she really wanted to trust Chloe. But at the Doctor's office, when she had first heard the words, "We need to do a clearer test for disabilities." she had felt frightened at the thought and by the thought of a needle going in her stomach, drawing fluid from her baby, and the 1 in 300 risk of miscarriage on the line. But Chloe had looked at Beca and must have sensed her fear, because she took Beca's left hand in hers, and smiled up at the perfect baby moving inside of her best friend.

"The baby's kicking." Beca had whispered, smiling, and Chloe rest her hand on Beca's stomach as Beca guided it to the spot where she had felt the butterflies. But even after all that, Beca could still not convince herself that everything was alright with the baby.

 **-XXX-**

Now a month had passed and everything at the amniocentesis seemed alright though the results weren't back, but Beca was still unsure of herself. A dull pain that had started at her naval early that afternoon, which eventually made its way to her lower right side, crippling her and rendered her helpless in an almost fetal position on her bed. Her face turned a ghostly white, a discoloring shade paler than Chloe's ginger skin in the summer.

"Becs, you're burning up." Chloe notes as she presses the back of her hand against Beca's forehead.

Becs groans and pushes her hands against her face, then rubs her eyes filled with a glossy, pained look in them.

Chloe returns with a wet, cold, cloth just wrung out enough so it was not soaking, but damp. She set the cloth behind Beca, wrapping it on the back of her neck, which Chloe noted was slick with sweat, a few beads sticking.

The cloth acted as if it was some trigger, as Beca loosened up and feet herself go limp at the feeling of coolness sending a comforting chill up her neck. It was then, when she was completely relaxed, that Beca felt herself roll involuntarily to the edge of the bed and hurl over, leaving Chloe as the unfortunate receiver of what was to come. Beca gagged, then shot bile from her mouth, making Beca feel as if she had no control over her body. Instant relief soon flooded over her.

Chloe who tended to usually be the first to freak over small situations, noticed once Beca was finished, that Beca had puked all over her shoes and vomit cornered the edges of Beca's mouth, and she calmly took the cool cloth and wiped the yellow substance from the small brunettes mouth, as tears were brought to Beca's gray, weary, eyes.

"Uhn..." She whines.

"It's okay, you're okay." Chloe whispers reassuringly to her.

"I feel like i'm dying." She groans over dramatically.

"That's _why_ you need help." Chloe says, sitting her up, and Beca groans.

"It's just a stomach ache and fever." Beca insists.

"Yeah, but you're pregnant. Every little pill you take has to be checked. Even Tylenol."

Chloe stands Beca up and begins walking her to the living room to keep a better eye on her. Beca sways, and suddenly her knees buckle and her weight shifts from under her, causing Beca to lose balance and fall backward, but Chloe catches her, and throws Beca's arm around her shoulder.

"Here, put your arm around me." Chloe demands gently as she takes Beca's arm around her back.

Chloe moves Beca onto the couch and disappears into the kitchen, and from a distance Beca hears Chloe on the phone with her doctor, and the sound of the medicine cabinet creaking open. Pills clink against the bottle as Chloe shakes two into her hand and closes it back up, setting it into the cabinet.

"Here Becs, take these and stay sitting up. You'll feel better soon." Chloe instructs her, handing her the small pills and a glass of water.

"Is channel 32 alright?" Chloe asks as she clicks on the tv set.

"Whatever." Beca brushes it off, focusing on subsiding her pounding headache.

Chloe sits next to her on the couch and Beca leans over, resting her head on Chloe's lap, and Chloe willingly rests her hand on her back, as Beca lets herself fall limp into it.

Chloe quietly watches tv while she lets Beca rest on her lap, and Beca stares blankly, not really watching the tv, but staring straight above it. Suddenly her vision becomes hazy and she blinks. It temporarily turns back to normal but soon fades again, and visions of three tv's rather than one spin clockwise. Beca sits up suddenly, rubbing her eyes, and startles Chloe.

"Uhn." Beca moans,

"Beca,are you alright?" Chloe asks, looking over after hearing her friend's discomfort.

Beca leans over and sets her head in between her palms, then leans her head into her knees best she could, the pregnant belly protruding her from bending all the way over.

"No, I feel sick, and nauseas. I need to throw up _again._ " She groans.

"Oh, okay! Here, grab my hand." Chloe outreaches her hand and pulls Beca up, but Beca stumbles on her feet, struggling to regain her balance.

Chloe throws Beca's arm around her neck, and her own around Beca's back, and walks her to the bathroom, where Beca collapses onto her knees and grips the sides of the seat and hurled over the bowl. Chloe was quick to grab her hair, scooping it back and grabbing the pony from her wrist to tie it into a low ponytail as Beca violently threw up into the bowl. When Beca was done, she leaned back against the closed door.

"Beca, are you sure you're okay?" Chloe consoles her.

"Chloe, i'm sure i'm…"

Beca froze, color leaving her face, as she felt her world spinning around her. She babbled nonsense as she tried to focus, but the pain in her stomach was only worsened by her violent episode of vomiting. Beca began to lean over, lying on her side in crippling pain as she felt Chloe's soft hands stroke her hair and her distant voice telling her that it was going to be okay only before everything went dark.

"Call somebody!" Chloe screamed in terror before realizing that they were the only two in the home at the time. Chloe was going to have to take over.


	4. Chapter 4

Beca was vaguely awake, staring blankly at two uniformed men and a woman all talking loudly to each other, yet she couldn't understand them. They all seemed to be in deep conversation and asking questions, but none of them to her. The pain she had felt all day was intensifying, and she lay on her back, longing to curl her legs up to her chest, but couldn't because she of her obtuse stomach. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she threw it back, clenching her jaw in great pain.

"Beca?! Keep your eyes open hon!" The small, young woman shouted at her, but she couldn't feel strong enough to muster up the strength to do it. The pain was greatly affecting her ability to focus.

Everything was hazy, and not a familiar face in sight, that is until she turned her head. But still even after seeing that face, she could not comprehend what was happening. All she knew was that Chloe was by her side,assuring her that she was going to be okay.

Chloe kept Beca's attention tightly, as one of the men wiped a cool pad of rubbing alcohol on her skin, and pricked a needle into her vein, feeding a tube through her arm. Beca flinched, scowling under her breath as Chloe looked helplessly at her, wishing she could inflict the pain from Beca onto herself.

Beca felt herself go limp, her arms and legs relaxing and her eyes fluttering in pleasure as she slowly let herself go, falling into a deep and temporarily painless sleep.

Chloe paces, tension racking every nerve in her body as she waited for someone with information. Just an hour before she was in the ambulance with Beca, watching as Beca cluelessly fidgeted in pain. She recalls Beca, only half alert on the ride over, moaning in serious pain, cursing meaninglessly under her breath. Chloe had taken her hand in Beca's, trying to distract her from the overwhelming majority of people in the ambulance and all the wires being hooked up to Beca and the baby. And now the last time Chloe saw Beca, she was asleep, and being wheeled into an OR. All that was left was to wait.

The clock ticked irritatingly slow, and Chloe sunk into a waiting room chair, restlessly playing with her hands, wringing them together nervously. Emotionally, she was drained, and she could feel her eyelids droop, but adrenaline from that morning kept her from being able to relax enough to fall asleep.

But Beca, in surgery for the past hour, subconsciously remembered everything that happened in a different way, as in a dream, and she had no idea of the true commotion happening around her as the doctors worked quickly to remove her defective kidney.

Beca thought she had woken up with a bitter taste in her mouth as she looked around the strange environment surrounding her. Chloe was beside her holding her hand as Beca slowly shook the sleepy feeling off of her, and felt semi better.

" _It's the morphine, but don't worry, it's in a very small dose." Chloe informed her, noticing the pleased and calm look on the brunette's face._

 _Beca felt dizzy and nauseas as the effects were somewhat starting to wear off, but still felt slightly better than she had before. Beca still had no idea why she felt so sick before, but was content knowing that Chloe could take care of her and brought her to the hospital where they could get some answers._

" _The baby!" Beca suddenly realized with overwhelming concern._

 _What if the violent episode had disturbed baby Bechloe somehow? Chloe must have sensed her worry because she looked at Beca and squeezed her hand._

 _"I'm sure no matter what, the baby will be fine." Chloe assures her and Beca sighs, but her relief soon turns to confusion._

 _"So why was I so sick? Because that was so not morning sickness." Beca groans._

 _"That's what we're going to find out. But Beca, I'm glad you and the baby are okay. I mean, I couldn't imagine losing one of you, let alone both of you."_

 _"Chloe..." Tears stung the back of her eyes and Chloe leans over her, wrapping her into a hug._

 _Beca suddenly groans, tears from her eyes starting to pour down her face. The sudden weight of Chloe leaning on her sent that familiar sharp pain through her stomach once again._

" _Sorry Becs! Is there anything I can help with?" Chloe asks, as she lifts herself off of Beca._

 _Beca shakes her head and rolls over to her side. Chloe rubs circles around her back as Beca moans in pain. The doctor walks, frowning with a pen in his hand, tapping it against his right palm. Beca feels his rubbery hand grab her wrist, taking her pulse, and she jumps at the feeling._

" _Ms. Mitchell, can you sit up for a sec for me please?" The doctor asks._

 _Beca hesitates and looks over at Chloe, who immediately offers her a hand. The doctor then reaches over, folding his thumb into his palm, and using his four main fingers to jab the spot right above beca's pelvis on her right side. Beca bent forward, moaning and instantly reaching for her side, waves of pain running through it._

" _Can you stand up for me and reach your toes?"_

" _Are you crazy? I'm pregnant! I can't even see my toes." Beca shoots him a look a dismay._

" _Just bend over the best you can." The Doctor sighs._

 _Beca, with much help from Chloe, obeys the doctor and reaches for her toes, a long stretch being complicated by her belly. But once Beca bends over far enough to see over her belly, the same pain waves follow, and she grabs her side, sitting on the floor._

" _Beca, I think you have appendicitis." He finally announces calmly but seriously, scratching his stubbly chin with his pen, and Beca winces at the sound of it._

 _Chloe's jaw drops as she looks down concerned at the brunette, whose face doesn't change, but instead her lips are pursed and eyes narrowed._

" _That's why I feel like this? All this drama just for a useless organ?" Beca asks furiously in disbelief, clenching her teeth from the intensifying pain._

" _She can't! She's pregnant! How is she gonna get an organ taken out when she has a baby?" Chloe claims over protectively._

" _It's a very common procedure that we've done to plenty of pregnant women before. Appendicitis can affect them too. Pregnant women are more susceptible to disease and infections. The surgery won't take but two hours. And unless it ruptures, there's a good chance she probably won't die." He says smugly._

 _Beca grabs Chloe's hand and feels the tension leave all at once. She looks trustingly at Beca and can see that she was not fazed by this at all, so given no choice, Chloe nodded at the doctor._

" _I'll get the nurses to perform an ultrasound on the baby to make sure it isn't stressed by this."_

 _Beca feels the on call nurse slather cold jelly onto her stomach, and it wasn't until she looked at it, that she realized how big the baby was getting and how big her stomach really was._

" _It doesn't look like he's stressed by it at all." The nurse smiles._

" _He?" Chloe coos, her worry turning into a relieved smile._

" _You didn't know?" The doctor asks, and Beca shakes her head._

" _No, we didn't."_

" _Baby Boy Mitchell ." Chloe repeats, loving the sound of how the three words flowed together._

But Beca had not been awake upon arriving and only dreamt of the baby and everything happening around her at the moment. In fact, she was immediately rushed into surgery, despite looking slightly better, but was a priority considering her baby. And the truth was, neither Beca nor Chloe knew what the baby was, or the condition.

"Chloe Beale?"

Chloe jumps startled, looking at the rosy cheeked woman standing in front of her, and her eyes sparkled, giving Chloe hope of good news.

"Um, sure…" Chloe stuttered.

"Beca will be out of surgery soon, and everything's looking up for her."

Chloe sits up, tension leaving her body as a renewed energy surging over her.

"But…"

Chloe groans, sitting back, preparing for the worst.

"Antibiotics are needed to treat her appendicitis, and you'll need to keep an eye on that baby of yours."

"So, when is the surgery over?" Chloe rings her hands together anxiously.

"She'll be okay in about twenty minutes, then you can see her."

Chloe waited for any inclination that Beca was waking up, while holding the smaller brunette's hand, staring intensely at her unborn baby, wondering if they were disturbed by this violent episode.

" _They…"_ Chloe thought, wondering when the two would find out the gender and stop using the informal term 'they'.

Chloe suddenly felt a light squeeze from Beca's hand and looked over to see Beca glaring at her, her eyes hazy and sensitive to the light.

"Hey Becs," Chloe begins, but is cut off by Beca's hoarse voice.

"Chloe, i'm sorry! I was a real jerk to you." She apologizes sheepishly.

"Do you remember anything that you said or that happened in the ambulance _after_ they gave you the morphine?" Chloe asked.

"No," She replies quietly.

"Beca, you were in pain. It was completely understandable. Your groans were comforting because up until after they gave you the morphine, it was the only sign that you were still with us." Chloe smiles a comforting grin at Beca, taking her hand and squeezing it again.

Beca semi- rolls her eyes in annoyance, then hoarsely laughs. Suddenly, Beca becomes serious again, and looks down at Chloe's hand, flailing it around as she thinks about what she could say.

"Chlo, when we first arrived, did we find out the gender of the baby? A boy?" She asks embarrassed, feeling stupid.

"No, you were taken right into surgery."

"Oh-" Beca utters, silenced from confusion.

"Good news is, you're gonna come home tonight around midnight. They have some antibiotics prescribed for you." Chloe says enthusiastically, trying to change the subject.

Soon a nurse walks in and begins pushing fluids into her iv. Beca looks up and grimaces, her sore body not wanting to take anymore of this. Beca suddenly grabs the nurse's arm and intensely stares at her, all seriousness in her voice.

"The baby? Did you tell me the gender of it before? You know, right before they put me to sleep?" She asks wearily.

"Um, I don't think so. You were already out of it when you arrived, so I don't see how they could've done an ultrasound between the time you arrived and the time they took you into surgery. They only had a heart beat monitor hooked up to you. But if you'd like to know, I'm might be able to pull some strings."

"Yes!" Beca relies tiresome.

"Okay, we'll tell them I'm just doing an ultrasound as a double check on the baby." She winks.

Chloe grabs for Beca's hand, smiling down at her as she runs her fingers over Beca's IV. Beca's hand shakily clasps Chloe's, weakly able to keep hold to it, and Chloe readjusts, grabbing it firmly.

The sound of the baby's heartbeat fills the room, a sound that calmed Beca's racing thoughts, and both girls sighed relieved. The nurse printed out a copy of it and handed it to Beca, who set in beside her on the bedside table.

"We're moving down now!" The nurse says enthusiastically.

"Baby Boy Bechloe." Chloe whispers, loving the way that the words bounced together in an alliteration.

"What?" Beca glared incredulously at her and the nurse laughs.

"That's really cute, but it looks like you're gonna have to reconsider." She informs her, gesturing to the screen as she circles the mouse around the baby.

Though Beca felt slightly terrified, she was thankful for her new little girl. Because with the help of all the other Bella's, she could raise her baby with plenty of help from the others. She was embracing this single mother things, even though the status between her and Jesse wasn't really certain or established.

Chloe on the other hand was beaming, knowing that they had another little future bella on their hands. Someone to love, to be their soul sister, to be born into this tradition, to carry it on. Chloe was ecstatic at the idea, and couldn't wait for the small girl to call her by the name 'Auntie Chloe'. She couldn't wait to help raise this girl to be independent like the rest.

Beca laid back, overwhelmed and still nauseated from the pain meds the nurse had administered through her IV, falling asleep unwillingly.


	5. Welcome Back!

Hey guys! I am so very sorry for the long hiatus I took from this story! Briefly, I decided to take a break which turned into a long leave. Though I see writing as therapeutic and relaxing, as an outlet almost, I've been struggling to find a place that I felt good about in my life, dealing with mental illness. Writing is a great outlet and I've written lots of stories about characters that almost mirrored my life (If youre into iCarly, my story: "ihave Anxiety" is up). Anyways, I'll try to update as much as I feel I can. I'm in a much better place, but through faith I feel like I'm getting there. Writing is also a release, and if any of you wanna PM me I'd be happy to talk. Anyways, when I'm reading I love feeling a connection to a character, and I'm hoping through constructive criticism and reviews that it can help me improve my writing and learn what the reader wants. I hope to bring emotion to anyone that reads this story and connections. Please feel free to PM me to talk or review to help my story! Thank you guys so much for your support and understanding! :) God Bless~ Elle

* * *

Chloe holds her arm around Beca's waist, and Beca's arm around her neck as she walks Beca from her car to the house. Beca limply follows, still tired from the pain medicine they administered to her at the hospital.

In her hand, Chloe held Beca's medicine, and as she set Beca on the couch and the other Bella's began to acknowledge that she was home, Chloe shook two into her hands and filled a glass of water. Beca reluctantly took them, scrunching her face at the bitter, cardboard taste of the white and smooth, oblong pills.

"Hey mom!" Emily exclaims, resting her hand on Beca's stomach and Beca winces.

As happy as she was to see the other Bella's, Beca wished for nothing more than to be left alone.

"Hey Becs, did you tell them the news?" Chloe asks cheerfully from the kitchen.

"Um, not yet." Beca mutters, not ready to tell them.

Beca laid on her side and soon the room cleared, allowing Beca to get her rest, while the other's prepared for their set that night. And as Beca was just about reading to fall asleep, her phone rang beside her. She glanced over seeing it was Benji.

"I'm not in the mood." She growls into the phone.

"Hello to you too." Jesse replies, taken by surprise.

"Jess? Why are you calling on Benji's phone?" She asks confused.

"Would you have answered if you had known it was me?"

"Would not." She snarkily replied and Jesse sighs.

"So, Benji filled me in on what happened. How are you?"

"I'm fine." She shortly snapped.

"Beca, what's up with you? We used to be able to be honest with each other. What's changed?"

"Us, Jesse! I just feel like we've grown apart! We're too different!"

"Different how? Different because I'm not Chloe?"

"Honestly, I just don't feel like we love each other like we thought. And I feel like you don't understand me like Chloe or any of the Bella's do." She can feel the sting of the words leaving her tongue, and hears silence from Jesse's end.

"Wow Beca, just... wow. I feel like an idiot. That our Love was just more than a mutual connection." He feels himself losing patience with her.

"Well how do you expect us to not grow apart when we're thousands of miles away? Don't you think our daughter's gonna grow up wondering why her dad is always traveling, and never around her and her mom? Don't you think you should be here to show her how to love?"

"Daughter?" Jesse feels himself soften.

"Jesse, she's gonna wanna see you more than we see each other. We're gonna have to compromise." She informs him.

"Well we were offered a place to live by my boss in New York but…"

"Jesse, enough with that. I meant more like a mutual place to live. Like where you can work and I can still be close with the Bella's until graduation."

"Well, I think maybe you staying there for now is best for both of us right now. You know, until we can figure out 'us'." He suggests and Beca's heart sinks.

"Yeah." She whispers unsurely, as she hangs up and rolls back over.

But it wasn't sadness Beca felt, it was both relief and uncertainty.

 **-XXX-**

Beca was seven months pregnant and in no mood to attend Bella rehearsals like she had hoped to, and getting to be at finals with the girls seemed to becoming dream rather than a reality. She didn't know how she possibly could think she could be dancing around the stage at finals, nine months pregnant, or even performing after she's had her.

With two months left, she felt herself tire more easily, and found herself sitting out, catching her breath as she barely like to move more than a few feet, her heavy stomach and body swaying as she walked.

Chloe turns to Beca and smiles. "Becs, you're just gonna stand in place this time.

"Girls," She says, directing her attention to the others. "You're gonna form a half circle behind her."

As Chloe went on, Beca felt herself become depressed, thinking about the boat load of problems as her pregnancy went on, getting closer to nearing the end, and the fears of going into labor, specifically the irrational fear of going into labor while at finals, 2,000 miles from home, scared her.

Frustrated, Beca kicks off her heels, grimacing at her swollen ankles, and walks over to the piano, gripping her water bottle and swigging her water quickly down her throat.

Chloe soon releases the other girls, allowing them to get a head start home, whilst she and Beca attend another doctor appointment. Chloe stares straight ahead until they hit a red light, then glances over at Beca, who was staring intensely out of the window.

"Beca, just promise me you won't be difficult this time! Just pee in that darn cup!"

"I find it disgusting! And I absolutely hated that juice they made me drink." She argues, looking back at Chloe.

"Beca, i'm just looking out for you and the baby's best interest." Chloe assures her.

"Speaking of baby, she needs a name." Beca remembers.

"Well, I think that's a decision for after the baby's born. You know, after we see her." Chloe insists.

"We need at least a list."

"Oh, momma Beca being all responsible." Chloe teases and Beca rolls her eyes.

"So, any ideas?" Chloe asks her as she searches for a pen and paper in the glove compartment.

"Yeah; The light has been green for ten seconds now, how about you drive?" She smirks.

 **-XXX-**

"What about...Lucy?" Chloe glares at the book.

"No," Beca replies, reaching over the seat to flip the page.

"Oh, how about…" Chloe begins, glimpsing briefly at the page.

"No Chloe, enough. You're not her mother, and I don't need your help." She snaps, turning away to look out the window of the bus.

"What crawled up your bum?" Fat Amy glances in the rearview mirror, staring back at the two arguing.

"Beca, what's wrong?" Chloe consoles her.

"Nothing. I'm just uncomfortable." She mutters shortly.

"A bus isn't exactly ideal for a baby to be born." Cynthia Rose implies nervously.

"Guys, I'm fine. It's just practice contractions so my body is prepared for when she actually gets here." She looks back at them reassuringly.

"Your body's prepared, so why aren't you?" Chloe nags her, concerned for the brunette's lack of motivation lately.

Beca glances back out the window and puts her earbuds in, left ear, then right. Chloe reaches over and yanks out the closest one to her, and leans into Beca to whisper in her ear to avoid attracting stares.

"Okay, what's really up with you? Do you really think that I haven't noticed?" Chloe whispers, making sure the other Bella's couldn't hear.

It was all true. If anyone could read Beca as well as she could herself, it was Chloe. Chloe could sense her friends discomfort from a mile away.

"Beca?" She repeated.

"Chloe, i'm almost thirty-five weeks pregnant. My ankles are swollen, I have zero energy to sing or dance, let alone create and memorize the set. I feel disgusting." She groans.

"Beca, you are my beautiful best friend; My sister-like, even." Chloe assures her.

"You always say that." She grumbles, annoyed.

"Yes, but I always mean it. Even in this difficult stage of pregnancy." She reassures her.

"But I want you always to be honest and truthful with me. So what's bugging you?" Chloe pushes her to talk, nudging her shoulder jokingly.

Beca bites the inside of her cheek, narrowing her mouth as she shifts her glance, looking down toward where she used to be able to see her feet. She sighs, shuffling in her seat to turn comfortably, facing Chloe.

"I...I just hate that it's our final year and i'm not able to go to finals like I had hoped. I'm just not feeling up to it, feeling useless. The only thing I feel capable of right now is arranging our sets. This is not the finals I was hoping to have. It's becoming less of a reality."

Beca sulks, embarrassed that she ever let her true feeling out, even though she was positive that the ginger would have some understanding of what she meant. But Beca didn't want nurturing, and Chloe would typically be the first to give. But instead, Chloe looked hard into Beca's eyes, ready to throw any 'tough love' and advice she could spew.

"Beca Renee Mitchell! Don't you remember that your stubbornness is what helped us win the 2012 ICCA's? Why can't you channel some of that toward not giving up now? You do know you're not the only heavily pregnant woman to dance? Some woman as pregnant as you are lifting weights up until they deliver,or do zumba, and you're gonna sit here telling me you won't dance because you're ankles are a bit swollen?"

Chloe's response took Beca back by surprise. She could see the enthusiasm in the ginger's eyes, encouraging and truly believing that Beca could do it. And Beca truly felt guilty, feeling too bad to tell the ginger to tone it down a notch. So instead, she smiles at Chloe, taking Chloe's hands in her own, and looking directly into her eyes.

"Chlo, you mean well, but-oh!" Beca winces, leaning forward from the sudden jolt.

Chloe was startled by Beca's sudden gasp, and drops her hands, looking concerned. Beca holds her hands on her stomach, sitting back, drawing in a deep breath, and slowly exhaling.

"Beca? Are you alright?" Chloe asks.

"It's just, she's… here, feel." Beca grabs Chloe's hand and firmly places it on her stomach. Chloe's soft hands lie flat against it, and Chloe, in disbelief, stares in awe at Beca.

"It's like she's doing a whole set in there!" Chloe gushes.

"Aca-unbelievable." Chloe adds and Beca smiles.

"She moves around a lot, mostly when I'm just sitting is when she's most active. Like when you're at rehearsals and I'm at home working on the set."

"This is just so.. unbelievable. She's definitely a baby Bella: Bella the Bella." Chloe smirks.

"You're incredibly weird! I am not naming my baby, Bella. That's too corny." Beca laughs.

 **-XXX-**

"Don't you flatbutts worry! We've got only eight more miles." Fat Amy calls from the driver's seat.

Beca leaned into Chloe, her head lying on the ginger's shoulder, as Beca slept quietly, and after awhile of not moving in order not to wake her, Chloe too fell asleep, her head turned sideways, moving and shaking at every bump in the road.

Beca felt her phone's vibrations against her thigh. She stirred, then opened one eye to take a glimpse at the lit up screen. She lifted her head from Chloe's shoulder gently, and moved the ginger's arm off of her stomach. Then Beca shifted her stare out the window, gazing at the empty fields through the rain smeared windows. The rain was coming down harder now, and though she couldn't see clearly, she still noticed a large, hairy, white creature running alongside the road.

Her first instinct was to jump up and tell Amy to stop the bus. But she knew she would probably send the bus off the road. So instead, taking a gentler approach, she gets up, tapping Amy on the shoulder as she whispers in her ear, pointing to the things she had seen on the road. Amy slowly drives the bus to the edge of the road, planning to explain to Beca that there was nothing out tell her even if there was, they wouldn't have time to stop before the show.

"Amy, please." Beca felt herself welling up with tears, hormones making her feel on the edge of emotionally collapsing. This was so not like her.

Amy sighs, opening the bus door, and handing the brunnette an umbrella, as well as opening one for herself. Fat Amy glances back to see all the Bella's, except for Lily were sleeping, and she quietly makes her way off the bus.

"Don't worry Shawshank, we'll look." Fat Amy assures her, making sure Beca can't see her roll her eyes.

The girls make their way toward the field where Beca thought she had seen an animal, run-limping, almost galloping alongside the road. The rain had let up and the girls close their umbrellas, and Amy defensively hold her umbrella across her chest, the end pointed down, in case the creature had turned out to be rabid. But what they had found was not rabid, but rather an entirely opposite expectation.

A large and white dog, with fluffy fur, matted and shaggy from the rain, and brown spots of fur scattered throughout it's coat, lay in the field.. _A Newfoundland,_ Beca thought, remembering the exact resemblance the dog had to her childhood pet of five years. It was at that moment, when the memory of her dog and childhood friend, Picasso, crossed her mind, that she bent down to touch the dog.

"Beca," Amy mutters nervously under her breath but Beca ignores her.

Beca wipes her tears and turns to Amy, clearly embarrassed of her sudden burst of emotions, glances up at her, as the dog begins licking her hand.

"What are we gonna do, we can't leave him here!" Beca explains.

"Well we can't miss our performance! What do you think we could do?"

"We should take him with us." Beca exclaims, looking toward the bus, and Amy grimaces at her last minute, hormonal decision.

Amy knew it wasn't best to argue with Beca, but she also knew that no decisions should be made off hormones, especially Beca's. She sighs and turns with regret toward Beca, ready to tell her to call the police or animal control and have them document it. But the guilt and resentment of seeing her cry would break her heart.

"Beca, don't you think we should call a shelter or something at least?" She suggests.

"No! No, we can't do that! And I'm having a baby soon! Isn't having a dog basically the same thing, learning responsibilities?"

 _She has no idea yet._ Fat Amy chuckled to herself. She knew very well, growing up in a home with foster kids coming in and out, that babies could not be trained. Only disciplined and hopefully raised correctly. But Amy also knew that there was not just one way to raise a child. Everyone had their own beliefs and rules. But she thought about it again, and realized that as a child, she had always wished for a dog, sometimes more than all the children she had coming in and out of her home. So she decided that the Bella's would vote.

"Alright ladies, Beca's out there swooning over some dog she saw wandering aimlessly on the road, and she thinks she can take it home. All in favor of getting a dog, sing G#. If you don't want the dog, keep your mouth shut."

The Bella's look unsurely at one another and Chloe stands.

"We never discussed getting a dog in the first place!"

"We thought about it. Something to bring us together before we knew that Beca was pregnant! Besides, do you wanna see a heavily pregnant woman cry? Because it's not as funny as you think it might be. She's raging!" Amy warns them.

Quickly, the same note echos throughout the bus, the Bella's smiling at each other, and all soon Beca comes on the bus, the large dog following on the leash Beca had made from some old rope she found on the bus's emergency kit.

Together they named the dog Diggity, a tribute to the song that had really been the first time the girls truly were able to sing in sync together for the first time.

 **-XXX-**

Beca lay with her head propped up, and her legs straight in front of her, with Diggity snuggled up on her legs and his head on her enlarged stomach, almost reaching the nine month mark in her pregnancy.

"Beca, don't you want to go to the zoo or something?" Chloe asked from across the room.

"Why would I want to go there?" Beca groaned.

"Because, walking will help the baby descend faster into the…"

"Ahh, stop!" Beca grumbled, putting her headphones over her ears.

"Beca, you need to get out of the house!"

"Does going to the doctor count?" She smirks.

"No! You need to actually need to do something productive rather than sitting on your computer all day!"

"I'm working on the set!" She defends.

"The set has been done for weeks! We need to rehearse for finals in just three weeks!"

Beca groans and rolls on her side, and Diggity jumps down, running into the other room. Chloe sits on the end of the couch, lifting Beca's legs onto her lap, and pulling a partial corner of Beca's blanket over herself.

"You need a change of scenery. I'm worried about you." Chloe whines.

"Fine," Beca groans, pushing herself up.

"I'll grab my coat, and we can walk around the zoo for awhile."

Beca swings her feet to the side and reaches out, Chloe pulling her off the couch, and she waddles to the door. She throws her lightest jacket over herself, and buttons it just above her stomach. Then the two head out the door, Beca grabbing her keys, which get taken by Chloe.

As soon as they arrive, and Beca slowly makes her way across the parking lot and through admissions, the two make their way toward the farthest exhibit and around the park.

"You doing okay?" Chloe asks to her friend, who was looking up at the sky, deeply exhaling.

"Why don't you ask me that after you've been pregnant for nine months." Beca snaps.

"Beca, we need to discuss what you're gonna do at finals. We're gonna be 2,000 miles away, so if you go into labor it's not exactly gonna be easy to get you home." Chloe lectures her.

Beca stops in front of the bench, right beside the Flamingo's, and sits.

"Chloe, we're only gonna be gone two days! And besides, Doctors are kind of a national thing in the U.S!"

"Beca, take this seriously! Like who are you gonna want to be with you?"

"I thought you were?" Beca asks for reassurance.

"Well yes, of course! But wouldn't you want someone like…"

"Don't say it Chlo, I don't want him here." Beca stops her.

"I wasn't even gonna suggest that. But what about after the baby is born? Where are you gonna go from there?"

"Well," Beca blows air from her cheeks.

"You're thinking of leaving, aren't you?" Chloe sighs disappointedly.

"Not necessarily. I'm just not gonna be living around here, but it doesn't mean I'm not going to see you!"

"So where will you go?"

"New York."

"What?" Chloe exclaims, taken by surprise.

"I have to! Her father lives there!"

"Beca! That's desperate, completely! Going back to Jesse for financial support probably!" Chloe accuses.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe you would say that! Are you jealous?" Beca exclaims.

"No, but how could you not tell me? I'm hurt that you want to move, but didn't tell me about your plan!"

"It because I haven't decided what I want to do yet! Because i'm scared, okay?" Beca feels the tears sting the back of her eyes.

Chloe sighs, sympathetically turning to Beca, and taking Beca's hands in hers.

"Honestly, I don't want you to be miserable trying to make this decision. And right now, I think you only think you want to go back because you're having his baby. But I don't think you're 'In love' with him." Chloe offers her advice.

"But what about the baby?" Beca sniffs.

"She will get to see him, but any man worth staying or leaving for would not leave his pregnant wife behind to do what he wants to do, but instead would offer an alternative that would both make you happy. Can't he see you're miserable trying to figure it all out? Trust me, if he's worth it, he'll come back. Don't you worry."

Beca smiles, pulling her hands from Chloe's, and wiping her arm on the cuff of her jacket. Chloe offers her hands, helping Beca to stand from the bench, and walks her to the entrance of the zoo.

"You do know, there's the option of moving into the old seniority house after graduation and performing professionally, right?" Chloe asks with a grin, and that's when a smile crossed Beca's face.

"You know, it wouldn't be so bad living with you weirdos, would it?" She grins.

 **-XXX-**

"And if you're not in labor after 40 weeks, then we'll schedule an induction." The nurse informs Beca, pulling off her gloves and throwing them in the trash beside her.

Beca sits up, pulling her shirt back over her stomach, and Chloe worriedly looks from Beca to the nurse.

"So if we're traveling next week to our finals, by plane, will or can she still go?"

"I wouldn't recommend it, but if she's feeling great, and there are not any onset signs of labor, then go for it." The nurse assures her.

The girls exchange smiles and excitedly leave the room, thanking the doctor on the way out. And though the entire ride Chloe talked of plans for the arrival of the baby, and how they needed a plan for if she went into labor during finals, Beca chose to stare out the window, terrified of all the daydreams of her going into labor, or her water breaking on stage.

On the morning they were planning to leave for finals, Beca groaned, her body aching as she threw her covers off of herself and made her way into Chloe's room.

"Chloe, get up, our flight leaves in three hours!" Beca warns her.

Instead of popping up, and seeing her red, frizzy curls bounce with excitement, Chloe groaned, and rolled over to reveal the palest, and most grumpy expression Beca had ever seen painted upon her face.

"Chloe, you look miserable." Beca gasps and Chloe coughs as she burns Beca a look of disapproval.

Beca walks over and touches the back of her hand to Chloe's forehead, feeling the warmth almost instantly. She then helps Chloe sit up, and plops beside her.

"Chloe? Are you sure you still wanna go?"

"Beca, it's our last one together! I can't not go!"

"Amy could fill in for you." Beca tries to assure her.

"No," Chloe snaps, on the verge of having a total meltdown.

"Chloe, be realistic here."

"Beca, I can sleep on the flight, and take some cough and fever medicine." Chloe promises and Beca realizes there is no use arguing with the ever so persistent ginger.

It broke Beca's heart to see Chloe so bent up. So Beca didn't nag, but rather would let the ginger sleep beside her on the flight, pulling her blanket over her to make sure that she would be rested and snug enough to be able to perform the next day. It was her job to return the favor, taking care of Chloe as well as Chloe always took care of her. What else would a Bella, sister, friend, be for.

"I'll give you an hour to get up. Otherwise, I'll stay back with you. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna do much there anyway." She smiles.

Beca then lifts the corner of Chloe's blanket and slides into her bed. She allows her friends to snuggle into her shoulder as the two fall asleep. It strangely, yet not so much, didn't bother Beca that Chloe had been coughing on the back of her neck. Instead, she would just pull the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and remain on her side, allowing Chloe to snuggle closer into her. Beca had sympathy for Chloe, knowing that her heart was breaking over the fact that she may not be able to perform at her final performance.

The next thing the Beca knew, she had woken up to the absolute silence in the house. It was then that Beca remembered texting Amy before she fell asleep, telling them that Chloe may not come, and to go ahead and leave if they weren't up in an hour. And she instantly regretted it.

She opened just one eye, peering over at the alarm clock on Chloe's nightstand. 11:23; it read. Beca instantly sat up and looked over to see that Chloe had turned over and was now facing the wall. She panicked knowing that they had slept three hours more than they had intended, and now it was too late. Beca could see that Chloe looked just as helpless as before, and that she probably wouldn't have wanted to go anyway, despite her persistence to want to go before. Chloe was now going to have a total meltdown, and it was Beca's fault.

"Oh no!" Beca thought as she slid out of the bed and pulled the covers snuggling around Chloe's small frame.

Beca snuck down the stairs after slipping out and grabbing her phone, she called Amy, but soon realized it was pointless. If they were still in the air, their phones were probably off. To make matters worse, Beca was now in charge of breaking Chloe's heart. How could she do this?

Beca collapsed onto a chair by the counter, and sunk her head into her hands, tangling her hands beneath her hair and pushing it upward. She felt frustration, her jaw tensing up an and her face burning. She had felt terrible.

It was then that Chloe shakily entered the kitchen slyly, Beca having no idea that she had just walked in.

"Beca, what's wrong?" Chloe asks, and Beca jumps at the realization that Chloe had seen her.

Beca's heart pounded, feeling the beginning of sheer panic. She refused to turn to Chloe but instead, sensed her getting closer, until she was around the other side of the counter, staring at Beca, who nuzzled her head in shame behind her hands.

"Beca?" She called again, her voice raising this time.

Beca groaned and looked up, revealing her exhausted expression, and red eyes.

"Chloe, we missed the flight."

"What? Why didn't the other girls wake us before they left."

"I, um... sort of told them not to." Beca mumbled inaudibly under her breath.

"Aca-scuse me?" Chloe asked in denial, as if asking her to repeat it.

"Yeah, but you were so sick! I couldn't let you go, but I also thought we would be awake in an hour so I didn't tell them to wake us. I thought we would decide whether or not to go after we woke!" Beca defended.

Uh-oh. Beca thought. She's gonna have a meltdown.

"Well, what now?" Chloe asked, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Beca asked surprised.

"We can't catch another flight, so I guess we'll just chill here for the weekend. I mean, there's no use getting upset over something that neither of us planned, right?" Chloe replied calmly.

Beca could have taken the opportunity to tell Chloe that she texted Amy, telling them that they might not go, but instead, she joined Chloe on the other side of the counter, wrapping her in a hug, and felt the ginger's arms reach up, hugging her back.

"I'm sorry Beca, I may have blown this out of proportion. But this was neither of our faults and I guess we did win three other finals. And what's important is that we can support and be happy for the others, and we also don't have to worry about the baby."

It hurt Beca that she was so understanding, and instead of emotionally collapsing, Chloe had maturely handled the news. Ouch. Beca thought. She really didn't deserve a friend like Chloe.


	6. A Bella Sized Arrival

**S** **urprise Guys!** I've decided that I'm gonna do an update spree throughout the next few days so be on the lookout and spread the word! Enjoy! ~Elle

* * *

"Well, since you and I are gonna be stuck at home by ourselves for two days, what do you think of going to the mall and dinner?" Chloe asks, after finishing her lunch and setting her plate in the sink.

Beca looks up from her plate, setting down her sandwich, and trying to talk with her mouth full of turkey.

"Sure." She agrees, hard to understand.

So the girls grab their fleece's and Chloe warms her car as she waits for Beca to slowly make her way out the front door.

As they shop, Beca feels the day drag, the heaviness of the baby recently dropping into her pelvis making it feel as though she was shopping with a bowling ball between her legs. She was constantly stopping behind racks of clothes, as not to worry Chloe with her Braxton Hicks that were now becoming a regular part of her life.

The discomfort wasn't too much, but enough to make Beca feel the need to occasionally stop to catch her breath. And she was constantly reminding herself that if they were real contractions, she wouldn't be able to talk through them.

Chloe managed to find her way into a maternity and baby clothes store, pulling things off the shelves and hangers to get Beca's approval, but Beca felt that none of the clothes were really something she'd dress her baby in. Beca really wanted to dress her little girl like a mini woman. Not the boring old onesies, with the sayings like 'I love my Auntie' or 'Doctor pooper.' on them. She really wanted little uggs, and leggings and headbands that made it apparent that the baby from early on was in fact, a girl, even though Beca herself was lazy.

Chloe picked up a white, short sleeved blouse, covered with small flowers of various colors, some pink, some purple, and even some blue lilacs in very small print. Chloe paired it with a Navy blue sweater, a vertical, long, ruffled, and dark ribbon, sewn on opposite of the side with buttons. Chloe then found a hot pink or magenta headband, a ribbon tied on the top. She grabbed socks of a lighter pink, and some blue jeans from a shelf by the counter. Together Chloe had constructed an outfit that Beca thought was fashionable, grown up, and all together adorable. Beca smiled in approval and Chloe proceeded to the front counter.

"Consider this a shower gift from Aunt Chloe." Chloe smiled, patting Beca's stomach.

After an hour and a half more, the girls grew tired and found themselves drawn toward the food court. Beca found and sat at cushioned bench, struggling to squeeze herself behind it as Chloe made her way over to get the both of them orange chicken and rice.

Beca hesitantly blew at the hot food and picked at it, and Chloe glanced at the brunette's unusual stubbornness toward eating suddenly.

"Beca, are you alright?" Chloe asks concerned.

"Yeah, i'm just really uncomfortable." She groans, trying to take a convincing bite of food.

After seventeen minutes, and two contractions later, Beca and Chloe make the decision to play it safe in case of real labor and take Beca home, then decide where to go from there.

"Ahh…" Beca groans under her breath through another mild contraction.

"How long have they been like this?" Chloe asks as she reaches for Beca's hand to squeeze.

"They were irregular Braxton Hicks this morning, but now they seem to be coming every nine minutes or so. But we should wait until they're at least four or five minutes apart before going to the hospital." Beca informs her.

Suddenly Chloe grumbles under her breath, glancing in the mirror and catches Beca staring at her in surprise.

"Traffic, it's terrible, even for where we live." Chloe vents mindlessly.

"Are you gonna be alright? We still have at least an hour." Chloe asks her.

"Yeah, they're far enough apart." Beca turns and scrunches her face in pain, calmly trying to breath out and in.

As the girls arrived home, Beca's contractions were at seven minutes apart. Chloe walked around to the other side of the car, helping Beca out and bringing her into the house, where Beca had decided to labor until they got the contractions to five minutes apart. Chloe ran a warm bath, allowing for her to relax and wait out labor in the home.

"Beca, I think that we should…" Chloe began from outside the door, unable to keep from feeling antsy.

"Shh…!" Beca groans irritably, wanting complete silence.

Chloe left the room and noticed Beca's phone, which was left on the nightstand, was lit up. So after texting the Bella's and assuring them they wouldn't need to come home, then calling Beca's obstetrician, she walked into the bathroom and peered in the door, finding Beca with a wash cloth draped over her face, and it hurt Chloe to see her in so much pain, but Chloe knew that Beca was tough and could wait out labor here for a long time, especially if her daughter was as stubborn as her.

 **-XXX-**

The nurse hooked Beca up to a monitor, and slid and IV tube through her small hand. Beca lay on her side, moaning as she held the other side of her pillow over the side of her face.

"I'm taking an aca-pounding." Beca groans, her eyes begging apologetically, gleaming as tears fill her eyes.

"Chloe, I can't do this on my own." She begins to sob.

"I know you can't, that's why i'm here for you Becs." She comforts Beca, pushing the matted, sweaty hair from the small woman's face.

"I still can't believe after all this with Jesse, he would leave me." She sobs, referring to her conversation with him the other day.

"I still can't believe you care! Beca, it's you and me and the other Bella's now. And you know we already love this baby more than anything. This is the highlight of all the years we spent together and makes me feel like we really are a little aca family."

Chloe reaches for Beca's hand and smiles at Beca, sitting beside her bed.

"Are you ready to meet her?" Asking for Beca's approval.

It was from the point when Beca reached her goal of five centimeters, that she had begged against all previous wishes and fears that they would administer an epidural.

Beca sat up, holding a pillow in her lap and leaned forward, resting into Chloe as she held her shoulders. Beca was advised not to move, as it could paralyze her, and she shivered, the cold iodine being rubbed on her exposed back, where the gown split open, and she felt the prick of a needle, as a long burning sensation took place.

Twenty minutes after the last needle was pushed in and an iv was inserted into her back and taped down, Beca laid back, painlessly looking around as she watched the minutes tick by, wondering about the time that would be on the clock as her little girl arrived.

The room had smelled of sanitizer, and was filled with everything for after the baby arrived. Forceps, gloves, face masks, scissors, some strange, bulb shaped, rubber squeezy thing, and a small plastic basket they would place her in beside Beca to sleep. The basket contained a receiving blanket and a small hat, pink, though she had assured the nurse that white would be just fine. All that was left was to wait.

"Beca, it looks like you're ready." The nurse informs her and begins to pull on fresh gloves and a mask over her face, paging other doctors to come in.

Beca feels herself shake, nervously looking around at all the commotion in her room, and reaching for Chloe's hand. Her anxiety levels and the adrenaline was high.

"You can do this." Chloe whispers, trying to reassure her.

The nurses help her into position, Beca sliding her right hand beneath one thigh to hold it while some nurse holds the other, and pushes with all the stubbornness she had in her body, being consoled by Chloe, holding Beca's left hand.

 **-XXX-**

The car ride to the hospital had been filled with silence. Beca was so focused on her breathing, and Chloe on her driving that they forgot they hadn't even come close to thinking of a name. Until Beca breathed her way through another contraction, and had reached into the glove box to grab some nausea gummies she had placed in there during her first trimester after she had puked in Chloe's car.

"Chloe, the name." Beca suddenly exclaimed, as the notebook with her name list fell onto her lap.

"Well, what were you thinking?" Chloe asks calmly.

"I haven't given it much thought because I assumed that a name would just come to me when I saw her." Beca admitted shamefully.

"What names did you say you liked? I know you said you had at least a few." She reminds her.

"Ruby, Evelyn, Maisie, Bella." The last name surprised Chloe, because up until then, Chloe had thought Beca was dead set on not naming the baby Bella.

Chloe kept her glare straight ahead, and Beca shifted uncomfortably, wondering why the ginger was so hesitant to reply.

"How about um... Ruby Evelyn?" Beca tries again. No answer.

"Chloe, dude? What's up with you?"

Beca doesn't wait for a reply as a contraction quickly takes over her ability to speak. Instead, Chloe just allows Beca to squeeze her hand as needed. And Beca realizes that Chloe is only really distant when she's thinking too much. It then hit her that Chloe was worried.

"It's gonna be fine Chlo, I've got you here." Beca smiles reassuringly and she feels her tension let up.

 **-XXX-**

She was placed, wrinkly, bloody and all, upon her mother's chest, instinctively snuggling herself warmly into Beca's bare chest. The doctors drape a blanket over the baby, friskily drying her off, before taking the baby to be weighed and measured. Baby Bella was finally here.

Beca, in awe, cried at the very site of her tiny daughter, barely weighing six pounds, being coddled and laid across her chest. Beneath the hat, was a downy coat of dark hair, and the baby's glossy eyes stared back, similar to her mother's glassy blues, only more gray. Emotions overcame Beca, and she swooned over the baby, looking from the baby to Chloe, and back again, as she (in her own biased opinion) held the most perfect baby proudly to herself.

"How about Holly Madison?" Chloe whispered.

"Like the model? Um, no." Beca laughed.

"I think it's adorable." Chloe whines.

"It sounds like a stripper name." Beca jokes.

The small girl cooed and looked up from her mother's arms, and Beca looked to the nurse for help to latch the baby onto her breast. It was around two in the morning, on an unusually humid spring morning. Beca had felt the most exhausted she had felt all of her pregnancy, including sleepless nights she had encountered. But it was the adrenaline of being a new mom that made it all exciting.

Upon staring at her child in disbelief for hours now, she felt confident in the name that just minutes ago crossed her mind.

"Elise," Beca whispered.

"Maisie Elise." She repeated, hugging the pink bundle tightly to her chest.

"I love it." Chloe's sleepy face lit up in support, after all, Elise was Chloe's middle name, and Beca had felt that after what they'd been through, it was completely appropriate to be named after her mother's 'sister', and her Godmother.

"That's perfectly fitting." Chloe agreed.

Beca decided that visitors were out of the question for at least a couple hours while she spent the time with Maisie and Chloe, all appreciating the complete silence and relaxing emptiness of her room before the Bella's returned home.

 **-XXX-**

As soon as the other eight Bella's returned home, they made it their first priority to visit Beca, Chloe and the baby at the hospital. They bubbled over with excitement and joy, not being able to wait to see the baby, and pass her around.

They knocked lightly on the door, and Beca looked up from nursing Maisie. They all filed in at once and crowded Beca, waiting for the baby to reveal her face, which was buried into Beca's chest.

"So Shawshank, have you thought of a name?" Fat Amy quizzes her, as she reaches to take Maisie from Beca's arms.

"Maisie." She replied proudly.

"What kind of white girl name is that?" Cynthia Rose exclaimed.

"Not really. More like a name like Marie would be cliche." Stacie disagrees.

"I kept a 'Marie' in my basement." Lily whispers, and Ashley and Jessica just stare, unsure if they had even heard her correctly.

"Malaria?" Flo suddenly chimes, mishearing half of the conversation.

"Maisie, you little peanut." Fat Amy remarks, comparing her considerable size to the size of the new child, which she was like a peanut in comparison.

"Hey Kiddo? Do you wanna hold her?" Chloe turns to the youngest Bella before handing her the infant.

Emily shakily takes her, nervously staring down at her new "sister". She anxiously smiles up at Beca for approval, and as she nods Emily feels the tension leave her body.

"Hey there princess," Emily coos of the new baby Bella, while bouncing her back and forth in her arms.

" _Hey little Maisie…"_ Chloe began to sing, repeating her name various times, manipulating it into different nicknames.

Beca rolled her eyes in annoyance at the corniness of it, then glancing at the others, she joined into the bittersweet moment, serenading the new member into their beloved group. After Emily allowed the baby to be passed around, Beca took the opportunity to take a nap, collapsing from complete exhaustion.


	7. Chapter 7

Beca sit in her rocking chair, rocking her stuffy and fussy almost three month old. Maisie moaned and whimpered, as she snuggled into her exhausted mother, trying to calm her in the wee hours of the morning.

"C'mon peanut, you've gotta sleep." Beca whispered.

The child only whimpered more in discomfort, wheezing in and out through her mouth, while struggling to breath through her nose, clogged with snot despite Beca using her sucking bulb to clear out her nose. Beca rest her hand on her forehead, feeling a slight warmth on the child's face. She had her first of many colds, experiencing a discomfort that no one wanted to.

"How is she?" Chloe whispers as she quietly peers through the doorway.

"She's sick and can hardly breath." Beca informs her.

"Poor thing." Chloe sulks in sympathy.

"She probably just has…"

"Malaria." Flo interrupts, peering into the bedroom to see all the commotion.

"No... Flo, a cold. She has a cold." Beca grumbled, half asleep.

Chloe walks back to her bedroom, Flo following behind, leaving Beca to cradle the child, soothing her as she hummed her back to sleep. The following morning was easier, and though she hadn't made a full recovery, Maisie seemed slightly more happy, and less stuffy.

Looking for Children's motrin in hopes that her fever would stay down, Chloe pours the thick pink syrup into a small plastic syringe, and walks into Beca's room, quietly handing the stuff to Beca to give to Maisie.

"This should keep her fever from coming back." Chloe offers.

Chloe sits next to Beca against the wall behind her bed. Fat Amy rolls over in her bed, trying to catch up on the sleep she had lost in the past few weeks since she started sleeping in the bedroom she and Beca shared again.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Chloe asks concerned.

"No, but I promise, i'll be okay for our thing tonight."

"What thing?" Fat Amy groans.

"Chloe booked a club for us to perform at." Beca reminds her.

"Oh, right. At that trashy club downtown." She infers.

"No, it's not trashy, just not filled with the greatest people." Beca adds.

Chloe looks from Beca to Maisie with concern in her eyes, as she lifts her coffee cup to her mouth.

"Is she gonna be okay? You don't have to come tonight." Chloe assures her, stroking Maisie's downy hair.

"I don't know, she was up all night. We'll see how she's feeling tonight, because I can't take her with us and I don't want to leave her here with Aubrey. That's not her responsibility."

As four hours passed and with only two before their performance, Beca went upstairs to check on Maisie before getting ready. Placing a cold hand to her forehead, Beca feels slight warmth, but not to the degree it was the night before. And though her nose was slightly more dry and her face not nearly as flushed, Beca didn't feel confident in her first real night away from her daughter.

"C'mon Becs, we're leaving soon! She'll be okay!" Chloe grabs Beca by her sleeves and pulls her from her daughter's pack n' play to help her get ready for their performance.

Chloe sits on the edge of the tub, and Beca faces her back to Chloe as she sits on the toilet lid. Chloe scoops the brunette's hair up into a neat yet comfortable updo while Beca texts Aubrey.

"She's almost here, but there was a detour." Beca grins, knowing something Chloe did not.

Chloe smoothes down Beca's hair and mists it lightly with hairspray before letting Beca's strands from her grip and wiping her hands on her sweats.

"Go get dressed in something nice, not too formal." Chloe instructs her before closing the door halfway to get dressed.

As Aubrey arrived, and Beca and Chloe were grabbing their things to meet the others on the bus, Beca paused to instruct Aubrey on her night.

"We'll be home by ten. Feel free to crash on the couch 'Brey."

"Relax! She'll do fine Beca." Aubrey promises, before motioning her out.

"Oh and Aubrey?" Beca pauses once more before closing the door behind her.

"Congratulations! And you'll do just fine tonight." She winks, nodding towards the ring on Aubrey's left hand.

 **-XXX-**

Beca and the other Bella's were preparing to go on stage to perform. But as the girls disappointedly looked around the almost empty club, they realized that this entire performance would be a dud.

"What are we gonna do? This ginger hasn't even had some jiggle juice!" Chloe gasps.

"Chloe, you don't need your juice to have a good time." Beca informs her.

"No, but it helps me let loose when we're about to perform in front of an audience." She insists.

"That explains the ICCA's from a few years ago." Cynthia Rose mutters and the other Bella's nod in approval.

"What happ-" Emily begins.

"Don't worry about it Legacy." Fat Amy warns her.

"Oh- audience at two o'clock!" Chloe whispers, notioning the others as she lowers her head.

The Bella's turn slightly to their right, expecting to see the place fill with people, but quickly turn left, realizing that they were filing in the door on the other side. They all look at Chloe and Beca smirks.

"Did you fail clocks too, Chlo?" Beca says smugly and Chloe pouts her lips.

 **-XXX-**

"C'mon Becs! I'm sure she's fine!" Chloe assures Beca, yanking at her arm to pull her back up to the bar after their performance.

"It's not that. I'm starting to nauseas from all these flashing lights." She moans.

"I'm sure it's nothing."

Beca could tell that maybe cutting Chloe off would be a huge favor. For she knew that even with one "Jiggle Juice." Chloe's inhibitions would be reduced.

"Okay, fine Chlo. But no drinks and i'll have to pump soon." She groans.

"Yeah, pump and DUMP!" Fat Amy grins.

"C'mon, let's shake our thing out there!" Chloe groans impatiently.

She grabs the brunette's arm, pulling her away from the empty table and soon Beca felt herself loosen up, and began to dance like her pre baby self. She even at one point, thought she had danced so hard that she peed herself. She looked at Chloe sheepishly and laughed, then stared up at the lights, being overwhelmed by that flashing lights once again.

"I think I'm gonna call it a night Chloe." Beca groans exhausted, glancing at her phone."

"It's only eight- thirty."

"Trust me, I should leave." She assures her.

"But Beca-"

Chloe pauses in horror, as the dance floor quickly became a pool of the yellow substance forming around their feet. Chloe looks in disgust and anguish at her friend, as she pulls her up from the floor and brings her back to the table.

"So maybe this wasn't my best idea…"

Beca shoots Chloe a look of disapproval, but it was then that she realized the ginger's good intentions all along.

"No, it's okay Chloe. You're a good friend with mostly good intentions." She smiles.

Chloe hugs Beca and reaches over, grabbing a napkin from its holder and wiping the bile from the corner of Beca's mouth.

"Let's get you home." Chloe says as she stands, holding her hand out, offering it to Beca, and Beca smiles acceptingly.

 **-XXX-**

"Morning Beca!" Chloe smirks, amusement obvious on her face.

"Okay Chloe, what don't I know that I need to?" Beca asks, smirking with suspicion.

"While Aubrey might be getting married, look here."

Chloe slides a heavy yellow envelope, stuffed with page after page of signatures belonging to Jesse, towards Beca.

"Well...it's over, isn't it Chlo? He wants out." She asks, slight disappointment in her voice.

"Aren't you relieved to be starting over? I mean, you're young! Put yourself out there!"

"Yes, but I also have a child to think about. I'm not even sure I'm on board with this because I'm the one who got left, so it seems kind of crummy that he would even send me these when he was the one to make the decision to leave." Beca reminds her.

"Boo! You're no fun! You got your maternity jeans on too tight or something!" She jokes, nuding Beca in the arm.

"Chloe, I can't! I'm just finding out my husband wants out, so clearly he feels guilty for leaving, but doesn't want to come back. Besides, it's not official; I still have to agree to it."

"Well, don't you agree? He left you Becs, technically you're only separated." Chloe asks.

Before Beca can respond, the two hear a faint wail coming from the living room. Maisie, who had been lying on her back, was now lying face down, screaming into her blanket, surrounded by a pile of toys Beca had laid out to play with. Beca turned to Chloe, and her shock and concern slowly fades as a smile forms on her face.

"Chloe, she rolled on her face! She just rolled over by herself!" Beca grabs Chloe by the shoulders, shaking her in disbelief, overwhelmed by the excitement of Maisie's first milestone.

The moment is short lived as Chloe places Maisie in her swing, and Beca gushes over her child, ignoring the fact that just a few minutes before her divorce was confirmed.

"I think now that she's rolling over on her own," Beca begins.

"She only did it once." Chloe laughs.

"We could officially say it's time to take her to get her ears pierced?" Beca asks.

"No, let's not get crazy! She's three months old! She'll cry and it'll hurt and…"

"And, it will be over before she knows it! They pierce them both at once so it's quicker!" Beca assures her.

After a long pause, and hesitant to agree, Chloe decides to go through with the piercings, tagging along with Beca as a support for Maisie.

Beca and Chloe walk side by side through the mall, Maisie wrapped in a cloth carrying sling against her mother's chest, lying as she slept soundly upon her mother's chest, the heartbeat soothing her, and the infant with not the slightest idea.

"Beca," Chloe whines through her teeth in a last attempt to change her mind as they approach the piercing place.

Beca reaches the front desk, staring back at the stereotypical piercing artist that you'd assume, the kind in movies; head to toe covered in scary metal piercings on nipples, lips, eyebrows, and tongues, or even tattoos, marking the skin with memories of loved ones, encouraging bible verses or famous quotes, all with some meaning that inspired it.

Despite the scary outer shell and scowling complexion, the petite woman was actually very kind, and Beca felt bad for the jump of conclusions, feeling that at first even the woman would scare her, and more so Maisie.

"Let's get this cutie's ears done, quickly of course!" She says with a plain expression.

Shannon was this lady's name, and she quickly turned around to grab Beca's paperwork, as she waited for her partner to help assist.

The two ladies marked her ears as to make sure they were even, and Beca held Maisie upward, hugging her tightly as she felt slight guilt for going through with this. She knew that if Chloe was this child's real mom, she would never let her go through with it. She would have said 'No thank you!' and walked out, despite paying upfront.

As they lined the piercing guns on each side, Beca shut her eyes as she felt Chloe's warm and soft hands on her shoulders, comforting her as even she looked away.

"One… two…" Shannon begins.

As they call three, Beca winces at the clicking noise the guns emitted, and feels her heart sink as Maisie wails. She instantly holds the child against her, consoling her as she bounces her back and forth in an attempt to calm her. It doesn't take but thirty seconds before she forgets the pain, and though her ears were now glowing in cherry red, the infant didn't bat an eyelash as she contently stared at her mother.

"That wasn't so bad, huh sweet face?" Beca smiles , continuing to bounce her up and down.

The tears had beaded on the tips of her eyelashes, but she didn't cry, rather falling asleep in the warmth of her mother's grasp. Chloe and Beca thanked the lady and left, this time Maisie being consoled by Chloe this time, wrapped around her small figure.


	8. Chapter 8

Brightly, the moon shined into Chloe's room, casting a shadow as it hung in the sky above her window. Chloe slept soundly as her friend lay on the floor beside her. The two had been looking at apartments available to move into by August, and had fell asleep trying.

Ever since Chloe started puberty at the age of thirteen, she had dealt with ovarian cysts, bursting and causing a great deal of pain, and she would always lie in bed, curled in a ball, tears streaming down her face and she had tried to feel better, waiting for the pain to subside on its own, and it usually did. But when she was just sixteen, she was diagnosed with potentially having endometriosis, a condition that was causing her heavy bleeding and ovarian cysts. And though it could possibly be controlled, Chloe had refused, even though she hated the idea of potentially stopping this all together by having her uterus removed.

But this particular evening it came without warning, as the ginger cuddled her sheets, curled into a ball as she slept without realizing that her bleeding had even started until she rolled over, and the sudden warmth had woken her, grossed out by the damp feeling of her sheets.

Chloe lifts her blanket, grimacing at the sight of her soiled bedspread, and slips out of bed, tearing the sheets off and she flings them to the floor, grumbling some more under her breath, thankful that she didn't share a bedroom with any of the other Bella's. She knew it was no big deal, but the emotional toll this put on her every month and the fact that it was only quarter after one in the morning, made her extra irritated.

Chloe made her move to the bathroom, and after filling the tub in cool water, then dropping her sheets in, she sat down, and an immense and sharp cramp took its toll, as she leaned, sobbing heavily over the toilet.

Familiar memories of being a teen, hunched over, groaning as she rocked through the unbearable pain, barely able to lift herself from the toilet, flooded back, and Chloe had forgotten how terrible the pain was though she vowed she wouldn't, though it had been at least a few years since this happened.

"Chloe?" Beca sleepily walks into the bathroom, squinting her eyes at the sudden light.

"Hey Becs." She says nonchalantly, trying to cover up the mess she had made.

"Oh my gosh, what's happening to you?" She whispers, unable to draw her attention away from the fact that tears were actually streaming down her friend's face.

"The lovely reminder that I'm not pregnant times one thousand." She groans sarcastically, crossing her arms over her stomach.

Beca nods in understanding, helping her friends up and tossing her a tampon from under the sink, then closing the door behind her.

Soon Beca helps her back to bed, slipping her two pills and a glass of water, tucking the covers tightly around her small frame and laying back in her own bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering how in the world Maisie didn't wake up from all the commotion.

"Beca?" Chloe whispers, peering in her doorway.

"Chloe, you can stay in my bed, it's cool." She slides over, patting the mattress as Chloe slid in next to her, wrapping herself comfortably in the sheets.

"It hurts so bad, and it is no easier now than it was as a teen." Chloe scowls through her teeth.

"What does?" Beca curiously wonders.

"Endometriosis is what they told me I have, either that or PCOS, but either way, it sucks." She angrily whimpers through her teeth.

"Wish I could say i've been there. But I'm here for you Chloe, returning the favors back to you."

"Ugh-Love you weirdo." She scuffs jokingly, actually grateful for her friend's rare sympathy.

"It's for life dude." Beca adds reassuringly, laughing.

 **-XXX-**

Chloe was deathly afraid of surgery, from the point of hearing the words 'hysterectomy surgery' she felt her heart drop, knowing that if her condition only worsened, which it more than likely would, it would become mandatory, rather than a life changing choice.

After two more months and many more cysts bursting, Chloe had decided visiting her gynecologist might be more than wise, rather than out of fear, putting it off until it became to the point where her surgery would be mandatory.

"Beca, there are a million things that could go wrong!" Chloe babbles nervously, flattening her hair down with her hand nervously.

"Or everything could be just fine, believe me Chlo- you're not the first one to have this problem, and certainly they can help you seeing as they probably have seen this before."

Beca consoles Chloe, sitting behind her on the exam table, rubbing her shoulders, trying to ease the tension in the room, thick enough to cut. She could sense Chloe's uneasiness, the ginger fidgeting with the bottom of her gown with her hands, twirling the bottom around her finger as she swung her shoeless feet from side to side.

Beca pulls Chloe's hair back, beginning a simple braid down her back as they anxiously awaited the gynecologist. Beca had left Maisie at home with Cynthia Rose and the others, seeing that a gynecology office was no place for a child.

"Chloe?"

Three light knocks shook the door, nudging it open slowly as the doctor cautiously entered, as to make sure everyone was decent, even though her job didn't really convey modesty. Chloe reaches behind her nervously, grabbing for Beca's hand as she jumped down and sat in the chair next to her.

As the nurse pushes the chair, rolling it closer as she grabs her clipboard, she adjusts the height, and faces Chloe, grabbing the pen in her hand and clicking it.

"So what brings you in?" She asks, licking the tip of her pen to get it to write.

"Diagnosed with Endometriosis as a teen, suffered with ovarian cysts, and had various uterine ultrasounds." Chloe rambles off, as if she was an expert, and had seen it all before.

As Beca is asked to leave, despite Chloe's pleas for someone for comfort, the nurse brings in an ultrasound, in order to check that things were still A-okay. When Beca is finally called back in, the two wait in silence, Chloe refusing to look at Beca as she watches her feet swing nervously and watches as Beca wrings her hands together.

Chloe and Beca jump simultaneously at the sound of a knock, breathing heavily, not feeling an reassurance whether she brought good or bad news.

"Ms. Beale, we didn't take exactly a long look at your ultrasound, but we have a professionals who specialize in it. Either way, we think we might have found some cancerous cells in and on your ovaries."

Chloe had stared at the nurse in utmost denial, sitting motionless as emotions, none of which she could name surged through her body. She didn't even look to Beca, as she struggled to pinpoint the emptiness in her body, and the heaviness of her heart sinking in her chest.

A mother, a donor, even a possible surrogate one day; These dreams flew out the window at the turn of a phrase. And she lost it, right then and there, flailing herself into Beca's open arms, shaking as she sobbed heavily, tears painting her face and turning it the palest shade of white Beca had ever seen, even for a ginger.

"We are able to tell you, since it's probably early, that the tumor can be removed, but only if you are open to a hysterectomy as a last resort to remove any possible cancer cells, and follow up chemo to take more permanent measures to keep it from coming back." She informs them, talking to them both.

Beca was now standing, holding the ginger in her arms, rubbing her hand up and down her back as she embraced her tightly, squeezing her tightly, trying to console the furious shaking her body was emitting beyond her control. They both were speechless, unable to feel anything as their thoughts and feelings became distant, unable to react or even think straight.

"We'll let you ladies know about your options and we can have a follow up appointment. The office will call you within three days with results and info."

She leaves, gently shutting the door behind her, leaving the girls to comforting each other, neither one of them wanting to make a move, afraid of the thing they hadn't even thought of yet in the midst of bad news; Facing the Bella's to tell them the news, and the thought would guilt the both of them, the roughness of the year being unfair, minus Maisie being born, taking a toll on their lives.

Driving home, Beca stared straight ahead, avoiding in possible chance that Chloe would want to bring up the discussion of what they would do next, but rather, Chloe stared out the window, audible tears and sniffles, as she brought her hand to her face to wipe her tears.

Chloe didn't know how to deal with her fears. Rather, she returned home to grab Maisie, and covered the two of them up on the couch, Chloe smiling down at the clueless and innocent child, having not a worry in the world beside when her next meal would be.

"If only life could be as simple as you make it seem, huh peanut?" Chloe whispered, her heart breaking.

Chloe did not yet know what to do. Though motherhood was not in the picture for her for a few more years, she was crushed at the idea that now, it might never be a possibility at all.

 **-XXX-**

Moving day was less than two weeks away. Two sorrow filled weeks, the girls saying their final goodbye's, constantly leaning on each other in a sisterhood where they each supported one another, and when one Bella would break down, emotions overwhelming the individual, the other's would be there, comforting her and acknowledge how much they cared for her, and loved her.

But the twist of Chloe having a tumor only put a strain on her and Beca's plan to find an apartment when money became tight in order for surgery to even become a possibility. Beca's job wasn't exactly well paying this early in her career, but she, Chloe and the other Bella's managed to be able to start somewhat of a savings.

It was a cool summer evening, the conditions favorable as they had been Beca's first year, and the girls found their way back to the old pool that had brought them to the realization that they worked together in sync very well, just a few years before.

Beca and Chloe led the other's back into the pool, the Bella's looking pleased as they took in the familiar smell of the musty old pool, and the echo of their footsteps approaching the deeper end of it.

Beca looked to the other Bella's for approval before starting the song that kicked off their entire sisterhood, belting out the familiar tune and waiting for the others to jump in without hesitation, exactly like she had hoped. It came not as a surprise, the Bella's almost feeling ready, and even with the addition of Emily and Flo, it felt natural and completely the same, the two picking up like nothing had changed, including the members of the group.

Aubrey stood at a distance, leaving it to her old group to find someone to take her part and naturally they did, Emily jumping in appropriately, as Aubrey smiled, holding a bundled up Maisie proudly, excited for the future Bella to be in their place one day.

" _And I tell her everyday…"_ Chloe belts, not changing it up the least bit.

As the chorus arrives, Chloe glares around at the girls who had shaped her into the woman she was, more specifically, Beca. A small grin formed to her face and it was returned back, the chemistry between the two unchanging.

' _Do they remember?'_ Beca wondered, as her favorite part approached.

Stomp, Clap; Stomp, Stomp, Clap. ' _Repeat.'_ Beca thought, waiting for the others to catch onto the pattern, and they did.

Beca grinned satisfied. ' _Just like old times.'_ She thought, as a small lump formed in her throat, and soon she felt like she couldn't keep from crying, realizing that they were reaching not only the end of the song, but the end of the original Bella's, except for a left behind Emily, the last and only girl staying behind to run the next generation of Bella's.

" _When I see your face…"_ Chloe finished, snapping Beca out of her thoughts as she held onto the last note as the others jumped in, slight hesitation for the end of the song.

" _Faaaaaace."_ Emily finished, the other half jumping in much to the surprise, and Aubrey smiled, impressed with the extremely low note being hit perfectly.

As they struggled to regain their breath, they looked at each other, tears in every eye of the astonished Bella's, amazed at the bond that could never be broken, despite the distance that would be between them. From the beginning until now, it remained the same; It was for life, and that wouldn't change.

"I love you, awesome nerds."

Beca gushed, semi-sheepishly, and even though she generally wasn't a girl of many emotions, she had no problem tearing down her walls to show how much she really did care for and love these girls.

After five minutes of standing in the cold shadows, Aubrey, though it broke her heart, intervened to get the home, in order for them to get well rested before their final performance. The one that could get them nationally recognized by producers everywhere, even if the music business wasn't the dream they chased. Tomorrow they would perform live on 'Good Morning America', with promises from the creators that there would be high honors producers watching.

"All right losers, get home! We don't need anyone screwing up the performance on lack of sleep." Aubrey's familiar controlling tone directed the girls.

Aubrey specifically narrows her eyes toward Amy, who just the year before, flashed the president, putting the future of the Bella's at stake and they all laugh, huddling around the tall and chunky blonde, as they looked around, smiling as at the exact moment, tears pouring down their faces, they managed to hit the same note simultaneously, just right.

 **-XXX-**

Maisie Elise stared back at Chloe, babbling and gurgling as she smiled up at the ginger, her once downy coat of hair starting to thicken as they formed dark, curly locks on her head. She had a bubbly personality much like Chloe's, rather than moody and distant like her mother's and thankfully, none of Jesse. Chloe had really started to make an impact on the small girl's life, Maisie becoming more dependent on the attention of her.

It broke her heart though that lately, she couldn't feel happy, worry tiring her body as her mindset was focused on a decision that would turn her life upside down and Chloe could see it was no easier on Beca.

The two had moved in an apartment together just the month before, and constantly bonded on the couch, Beca laying her head on Chloe's lap, or vise versa, as Maisie lay in her swing beside them.

Beca and Chloe did not speak, and the only sound besides the humming of Maisie's swing was the tv, on the lowest volume they could still possibly hear. Neither of the girls were in the mood to talk, and when it was completely silent, as Chloe fell asleep and Beca was mesmerized by an ad in her magazine, they both jumped at the sudden sound of Maisie waking up for another feeding.

Beca, without hesitation for the routine feedings, was stopped by Chloe, who threw her blanket off of her and trudged over to console the distraught five month old.

"I've got it Beca." She replies coldly, no emotion or sincerity in her voice.

Beca knew this cancer diagnosis had put an edge on Chloe, revealing a side to her that Beca had not even knew existed. She wanted to do something, tell her it was gonna be fine, but rather, rendering it useless and rather redundant to repeat it, she stumbles her way into the kitchen where without thinking, she would take a first a small swig of Chloe's liquor, easing into it as not to feel nauseous, but also not sorting through the consequences she and potentially Maisie could face.

" _I'll pump and dump."_ Beca assures herself wearily as her eyelids droop sorrowfully.

"Beca! What do you think you're doing?" Chloe interrupts her mid-sip to snatch the heavy glass bottle from her hand.

It took Beca quite by surprise, the angry snatch of the bottle and the loud clink of it hitting the counter roughly without breaking. She could see the angst and fear in Chloe's eyes, wide, glossy and hurt as she stared at her friend in complete shock at her last resort.

Beca's emotions hit her like a train, overwhelming her as she tried to sort out all her thoughts, figuring out why she would even pick up the bottle in the first place. She felt guilty, unable to come to terms with her behavior, and it even startled her herself, a new low she never saw herself taking, and selfish considering her role as Maisie's mom.

"Chloe, it's killing me to see you this unhappy." Beca's voice wavers on the verge of tears, and she couldn't tell at this point if it was still hormones or if she truly could not stand to see her friend this way. The answer was now obvious to her.

Chloe pulls Beca into a hug after setting the infant down, rubbing her back as she reassures her that she would be okay. Beca and Chloe shake in each other's arms, as their emotions poured and they felt like everything they had been avoiding to discuss was now necessary to speak of in order to move on.

Once they were calm, the girls moved back to the couch, each girl sitting cross-legged on their own cushion of the couch. Chloe wrings together her hands as she tries to gather the right words.

"I'm just terrified, you know, of never being a mother more than I am of the actually surgery." Chloe confesses.

"Chloe, you're a wonderful! Maisie loves you more than anything, like your own mini adopted daughter. She and I care about you as a small little family almost and we love having you around! We love you." Beca reassures her without a doubt.

"Then it's decided…" Chloe exhales, sighing deeply.

"What is?"

"I have to do this surgery, it's inevitable." She replies, the most confident she had felt in months.


	9. Chapter 9

Chloe stared up from the hospital bed, her smile faint and unsure as she reached for Beca's hand. Her gown covered just below her knees and she wore a paper cap over her hair to avoid it from getting in the way. An IV had been poked and pricked through her hand, more than once in order to find an accurate vein. It had pained Chloe more than it had hurt Beca to watch, her slim and paper thin skin being bruised from the incision.

Before the surgery the Bella's had gathered around the apartment for support the night before, assuring Chloe that they would stay as long as she still needed them, but Chloe convinced them this was a common procedure, and that they would only be removing the tumors, before administering the start of chemo.

"We love you Chloe." The girls assured her.

Maisie was now eight months and much to the girls surprise, she had learned the skill of opening her mouth just wide enough, so she could lean forward to give an opened mouthed kiss to your lips. It was an exciting and very sweet new milestone, the young child learning more as she grew even quicker in the last two months since they moved, sitting up, rolling, and pushing herself up from her stomach to an all fours crawling position. She was growing up before their eyes, faster than either of them could believe.

But going into surgery, just a couple months after her initial consultation, came with the consequence of uneasiness, anxiety and nausea from the medicine they had administered upon preparations for surgery.

Chloe could remember that before the surgery that she felt un-ignorable guilt she felt over what had happened in the past two days, more specifically, this morning before leaving for the hospital.

Maisie had been sitting on the kitchen tile, greedily taking wide-mouthed bites of the rice cereal Chloe was feeding her as Beca stood in the living room, folding the last of Chloe's laundry into her bag.

Chloe wiped the spoon on the edge of the bowl, as Maisie reached her arms impatiently out, grabbing for the spoon even though she had not an idea of what to do with it besides just sucking on the end.

"Slow down peanut." Chloe laughed at her small grunt, leaning in closer to the food.

"Mmm!" She grunted again.

"M..mam.." She mumbled and Chloe looked pleased at the small child.

"Ma...ma!" Chloe coached her, trying to see if that was actually what she was trying to say or if it was just just senseless babble.

The child mischievously smiled, as if she knew she could do it but was screwing the ginger over. She smirked again before screeching, flailing her hands around happily.

"Okay you little stinker, be that way." She laughs sarcastically.

"Chloe? Are you almost ready?" Beca called from the other room.

"Almost. We're working on a new word over here!" She replied, turning back to Maisie.

"Love you little one." Chloe smiles with amusement as she noticed the rice cereal making a mess around Maisie's face, trying to pick her up as she cleans her.

"Mmm….ma!" She grunts, reaching out towards Chloe's open arms.

"Kind of!" Chloe smiles enthusiastically, taken by surprise, but also feeling slightly guilty that the word was directed towards her.

She knew that even though she might have been able to say it, that the word was new and probably was an amusing sound for the child to roll off her tongue, meaning nothing to the small child other than a plea that would catch the attention of whoever was there to watch her. But Chloe still felt terrible that it had first been said to her, and decided to lead Beca to think that she never had said it, so that the next time she said it, Beca would hear it first, assuming that she had never said it before.

"I love you too, sweet face." Chloe admires the unconditional love, feeling as if Maisie was truly her child.

Her heart had happily skipped a beat, scooping up Maisie and hugging her to her hip as she brought her into the living room for Beca to dress before Jessica and Ashley, as well as Stacie arrived to babysit, the three Bella's who were still closest to home.

Now as she was being brought into surgery and the thought had crosses her mind, she had wanted to reach out to Beca and tell her, but soon came to the conclusion that it would be even more special if she had thought Maisie had said it for the first time to Beca.

"Chloe!" Beca walked beside her bed, motioning for the nurses to pause.

Beca gently places an over excited Maisie on Chloe, and she buries herself into Chloe's tired embrace. The child places her hands over Chloe's face, lightly patting on it before sitting up, reaching back for her mother's hold.

"Mmm...ma!" She squealed in distress, reaching back for Chloe as she was lifted out of her grasp.

Chloe looked unsurely back at Beca, expecting complete hurt on the brunette's face, but instead she laughed it off, her heart warmed at the fact that Maisie loved Chloe as much as she and the other Bella's did.

"She's been saying it, or at least trying to all morning."

"She has?" Chloe tries to play it off, happily squeezing the baby in relief.

"You don't think I heard the two of you in the kitchen this morning?" Beca smirks as her heart melted at the thought.

"Better she say it to you than say 'daddy' to me." Beca adds.

"You're not upset?" Chloe asks relieved.

"It kind of caught me off guard, but only because I wasn't expecting it. I'm just happy and relieved that Maisie Elise loves you as much as the rest of us; She's truly a tiny Bella." Beca winks.

Chloe sheepishly looked back at her, her eyelids feeling heavy from whatever they had given her just a few minutes before through her IV. Chloe reaches for Beca's hand and gives it a squeeze, thankful for someone like Beca in her life, before being taken into surgery. But what Chloe didn't know, is that this surgery was just the beginning of an emotional and physical rollercoaster.

 **-XXX-**

Just three days before the surgery, Chloe had looked from Beca to the window, then back to Beca, feeling the sting of her emotions, the confusion, the deep sadness, the fear of chemo, and more, feelings she couldn't even really describe. She was planning on dropping a bomb on Beca, after at just the doctor's visit the day before she found out some pretty interesting news.

"Chloe?" Beca whispers, trying to gain her attention.

Chloe looks back, tears running down her face, and she looks at Beca as she leans over the couch.

"You know, I might not be able to have my own kids, but you and Maisie are like my little family now." She smiles with uncertainty.

"Oh Chloe." Beca feels her throat tighten as it dries, and she stands and leans over Chloe, trying to gently hug the fragile woman.

"Beca, I've been thinking that chemotherapy might be a better option though." She confesses.

"What? That's crazy! The doctor said that if they removed your tubes and everything that there would probably be no need for that! Why would you want to?"

"The doctor told me that if I had any 'good' eggs that they would preserve them for me, so I'm taking my chances."

"Chloe that's crazy! You still won't have a uterus if you decide to get the hysterectomy to stop your heavy bleeding! Obviously you didn't think this through!" She reminds her.

"Beca," Chloe begins and Beca turns to face her with shock.

"Are you sure you really wanna go through all that? What if they don't find any good eggs?"

"Trust me, it's what I want and I'm willing to take the chance." Chloe grabs Beca's hands, starin with intense sadness in them.

"I'm just afraid it will be all for nothing! Why can't they preserve the good eggs, then take everything out?"

"Because, if we go with chemo, it has the possibility of ensuring that the cancer will be gone, and i'll might still be able to carry my own child."

"But it won't stop the bleeding, and you won't be able to conceive naturally." Beca reasons.

"Beca," Chloe begs.

"No, Chloe! This is important, and I'd rather you avoid chemo and just have the hysterectomy than to see you suffer! And I'd be willinging to carry a baby for you if it means you can still have a child in the near future so you can avoid undergoing chemo , but I think children shouldn't even be a possibility right now between your cancer diagnosis and whatever happens after that."

Beca sighs, shakiness and insecurity in her voice, as she exhales. She slowly agrees, and squeezes Chloe in a hug, rubbing a comforting hand on her back.

"Beca, I think if the cancer spreads, I'd have to get it anyway." She informs her.

"I know... but Chloe, I'm just scared for you, that's all." Beca whimpers.

The girls sit in silence, tears quietly streaming down their faces as they refuse to look at each other, and Beca leans into Chloe, sniffing as she looks up at her, noticing the distant and troubled look on her face.

"So what now?" Chloe's voice quivers.

"I don't know." Beca sighs.

 **-XXX-**

" _Illusion never changed into something real… I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn."_

Chloe felt her eyelids droop over her eyes, losing sight of Beca's face, and forgetting the warmth of her hand. The one thing she never lost sight of; Beca's comforting smile as she closed her eyes, lost in the drowsiness of the anesthesia, and the image of bright lights bouncing in her head.

Beca anxiously waited, and though she could never imagine the unimaginable pain and worry Chloe had gone through while Beca had undergone her appendectomy, she felt connected by the heart to Chloe, able to comprehend the value of their meaningful friendship. And not the hardest curveball thrown at them could make her ever re-evaluate their friendship.

Beca wanted to be there, waiting next to Chloe post- surgery, and she was.

"Chloe? How are you feeling?" Beca asks as Chloe stirs, still half asleep.

Emily sat watching the two from the corner of the room, while holding Maisie on her lap. She had come to help take care of Maisie while Beca helped Chloe recover. Chloe, who had a bag attached to her for bathroom purposes, looked down in disgust, then glanced at Beca, begging her to help her up and use the toilet.

"You've gotta chill! Tons of people would die to be able to use the bathroom wherever." Beca insists, trying to lighten the mood.

"This isn't exactly ideal. It feels uncomfortable and it's the only thing that looks worse than I do right now." Chloe grumbles.

"You look great! Doesn't she look great kiddo?" Beca asks Emily, turning and nodding to her.

"Right mom!" Emily replies obediently, as if it was scripted.

"No!" Maisie shakes her head, thrilled with the sound of her new word.

"Um… Looks like someone's learned some sass." Chloe laughs, jokingly burning Beca a look of disapproval.

"Chloe, we're gonna stay here and take care of you, and Em's here to help take care of Miss Maisie."

Beca grabs Maisie from Emily and places her in Chloe's arms. Maisie automatically nuzzled herself under Chloe's arm, laying her head on her chest and she scooted in closer. The fact that Maisie loved snuggling her, especially since she's learned to crawl, scooching over to Chloe at night to read a book and fall asleep in her arms, made Chloe cherish the time when she was still little.

"Love you peanut." Chloe whispers, kissing the child on the head as she attempted to comfortably fall asleep.

 **-XXX-**

Happy times returned temporarily as Chloe's birthday approached, and she celebrated with her closest friends. She gratefully took sips of alcohol, enjoying what she could before she started chemo treatment, and also was awaiting the news of whether or not she still had any "good" eggs left to preserve.

"Chloe, you dirty bird! No peeking!" Beca warned jokingly as she walked, her hands over Chloe's eyes, into the living room.

Beca pulls her hands away to reveal a living room full of overly joyful Bella's, smiling back at Chloe.

"Surprise, little red." Fat Amy laughs and the other's join in.

Chloe sits, gathered around by her friends and Beca slips Chloe a yellow envelope, but despite its large size, weighed close to nothing.

"What's this?" Chloe smirked.

"Chlo, Do you think I would've have wrapped it If I wanted you to know?" Beca says incredulously.

Chloe looks back to the envelope, cutting it open with her index fingernail, and slides out a few sheets of paperwork, staring confused at Beca.

"It's a medical approval form, stating that I'm verified to become a gestational surrogate." Beca smiles.

"Aw, Beca." Chloe smiles at her in disbelief, unable to say much more as her gratitude became expressed through her tears, saying it all.

"We really need more people like you in this world." Beca smiles, and the other's murmur, agreeing.

"Beca, this is so soon! You literally just had Maisie! There's no way you could think of having another baby this soon! Maybe sometime in the future, I would love for you to carry a baby for me! But in the midst of this cancer and therapy, it just doesn't seem like the best possibility for us."

"We could freeze them, find a sperm donor, then maybe sometime in the future, when life isn't so hectic, then we could think about it. What do you think Chloe?"

"Of course, it's a great thought," Chloe smiles hesitantly, hugging her. "However, the only person's mom, or at least mom figure, I want to be is Maisie's. If this chemo or cancer kills me, I want her to grow up knowing how much we all loved her ." She suddenly grew very somber, and the Bella's shifted in discomfort at the thought.

"Hey, do not start with that!" Beca's voice cracks with warning. "We can make that happen. We'll just give you the same parental rights as her God mom as Jesse and I have, you'll be a third party." Beca reassures her.

"Guys, the cake." Amy hints to break the awkward and the girls smile at her.

"Hope you don't starve to death staring at that cake." Jessica teases, and the girls laugh at the bittersweet, yet corniness of it all.

 **-XXX-**

Final days were ticking away as Chloe prepared herself for her first round of chemotherapy. She wanted to do one last fun thing before then, before she was too sick to want to even think of functioning, to move around and sing, dance, do whatever. Also coming up, a call from her doctor on what to expect.

Chloe sat with her chin in her hand on the arm of the couch, staring at her phone as she waited for it to light up, but as minutes ticked by, the phone didn't give any indication that she would be getting a call anytime soon.

"Chloe? You've been staring at your phone for half an hour now." Beca notes.

"Sorry, I just can't shake this feeling of something going wrong."

"Like having no eggs to preserve?"

"Exactly that." Chloe clarifies.

Beca sighs, setting Maisie down to crawl around as she walked over to the coat rack and buttoned one of her heavier jackets up. Then grabbing Maisie, she slid the zipper up on the small pink coat and strapped her into her carrier.

"Where are you going?" Chloe looks up.

"We're leaving." Beca informs her, tossing Chloe her jacket and grabbing her keys.

"Where?" Chloe asks before being interrupted.

"Wherever you'd like! It's your day to choose, anything to get us out of the house." Beca assures her.

Chloe smiles, feeling her heart glow with change, coming to realize that the best way to beat her cancer was to connect with others who had the same.

"Can we do something a little different?" Chloe asks for approval.

"Sure, anything." Beca encourages.

"We should go visit the children with cancer at the hospital." Chloe announces.

 **-XXX-**

Chloe nervously walks to the check-in desk at Children's Hospital, waiting patiently for the nurse to look up from her papers to acknowledge the two standing there. Chloe clears her throat and looks from Beca to the nurse, impatiently tapping her nails on the desk.

"Can I help you?" The nurse scrunches her eyebrows.

"We're here to see if we could visit some of the sick kids. You see, I was just diagnosed with early ovarian cancer, and I was looking for a place where there was other kids and adults in the same situation. Can you find it in your heart to let us in?" Chloe pleads.

"I don't need your life story." The nurse replies, frowning at Chloe.

"Can we go in?" Beca asks again, more impatiently this time.

"I don't see why not, the kids love animals." The nurse nods toward Diggity, whom Beca and Chloe had brought in on a leash for the kids enjoyment of petting.

Chloe and Beca walk into the unit where the sick kids were staying, looking around at the smiling faces of several frail looking children, some which had no hair and others who had little but mostly none. By the looks of the kids playing, neither Beca or Chloe, despite their outward appearances, could guess that any of the children were sick.

One little girl, turning at the sound of Diggity's claws clicking on the floor as they entered in, and the sound of him jumping excitedly, turned around, her face lighting up as she scurried over to the dog, wrapping her thin arms around his neck and fluffing his fur with her hands as she pet him.

She was small, and looked about seven. Her brown eyes twinkled as she glared happily at the dog and Chloe felt her heart melt at the child's enthusiasm over the dog.

"I'm Eva." Her small voice finally announces, looking up at Chloe and Beca.

"Chloe and Beca, and our newest Bella, Maisie." Chloe introduces them.

"Baby Bella?" Eva asks.

"We sing for fun, nationally," Beca informs her unimportantly.

"And she's our newest member." Chloe adds.

"Where's her mommy?" Eva asks concerned.

"I'm just like her mom if something were ever to happen to her real momma." Chloe infers.

"That's so cool! Do you know the song, "You are my sunshine?"; My momma used to sing it to me when I first started chemo."

"Does she still?" Chloe asks.

"No." Eva replies sadly. "She and my daddy couldn't handle me and my sister or my treatments so we got taken away." She adds as if it wasn't a big deal.

"How about my friend and I sing it to you? For good luck." Chloe offers, the grin on her face trying to hide the heartbreak.

Chloe's eyes looked pleadingly at Beca as Beca sighed, and the two began a round of the song, much to Eva's delight, and it had spread a smile across her tired face.

Chloe, before leaving, had hugged the child who had only in fifteen minutes, made an impact on her life.

She felt like crying, the kind where she just loved someone so deeply and their presence made her so happy that her heart physically hurts. She began to think how blessed she was and the happy felt almost incomprehensible. Chloe began to cry harder, not out of sadness, but because there truly is no other way to express how she felt because words didn't feel sufficient enough.

"Stay strong, sweetheart." Chloe whispered into her ear, longing and wishing that she could have done more.

"Good luck with your chemo, I'll be your number one supporter!" Eva grinned, her glassy eyes illuminating with the same yet different gratefulness that Chloe had felt.


	10. Chapter 10

"Chloe, your phone." Beca notes as the small phone vibrates against her seat.

"Hello?" Chloe responds, shushing Beca.

On the way home from their hospital visit the day before, Chloe had felt a change of heart as one particular thought had tugged at her heart, making her feel as if she had been, even with the best intentions, had been thinking with her head, rather than what she really felt inside. And this one call was about to change everything.

" _Hi Chloe, it's the Aurora fertility clinic with your results…"_ The voice echoes through the phone.

"This is she." Chloe's voice quivers.

" _We found that out of the small handful of ovaries we have collected, that at least a few of them are usable for any future IVF attempts."_

Chloe feels her heart pound, looking over to a clueless Beca, not an idea of who was on the other end of the conversation, and why Chloe was just sitting there with her jaw wide open.

"Chloe?" Beca finally notices.

"Um, actually that's perfectly okay…" Chloe responds to the lady, drawing a suddenly curious Beca's attention.

"I understand, this doesn't alway work. Thank-you for at least collecting them, it's such a shame there's no good ones." She finishes, hanging up.

"Chloe? Are you okay? What what that about?" Beca asks nervously, confident that she would be given an answer she didn't want to hear but knew she would receive.

"Yeah, they um… didn't find any good ovaries to use." She responds, faking disappointment in her voice.

"Chlo- I'm sorry." Beca consoles her as she reaches over and rubs her shoulder.

"Yeah." She mumbles, leaving it at that as she feels guilt bottle up inside and she looks away.

-XXX-

Chloe's voice echoed on the shower walls, and the steam from her hot shower could be felt from outside the bathroom door. Beca noticed that Chloe's phone was lighting up as it vibrated, shaking Maisie's teething ring around the table.

 _Message: Hi Chloe,_

 _We have questions regarding your positive ovary samples. Since you have decided after having them harvested, that you no longer want them to be used, we'd like to know if you'd like us to store the samples in our freezers for future use. We also have the option of donation. Please let us know within the next 24-48 hours._

 _Thanks! The Team at Aurora Fertility Centers._

Beca couldn't believe what she had just read. After spending the night comforting Chloe, who had just laid in bed, refusing to talk to Beca as she stared blankly out of their apartment window, she couldn't believe that this was even real, feeling questions circulate around her mind. But she knew consulting Chloe would only make her more upset, but she was also looking for answers, feeling upset that she may have been certified for surrogacy for nothing.

"Beca? Can you set a towel on the counter for me, I forgot!" Chloe calls from the bathroom, hardly audible over the sound of the shower water clinking against the shower floor.

Beca opens the door, feeling the humidity of the steamy shower hitting her face with extreme moistness. She bend over and pulls a towel out from underneath their cupboard, then goes to hand it to Chloe's outreached hand.

"Thanks Bec."

"Wait!" Beca suddenly draws her arm back, the towel still in it.

"Beca! The water is getting cold!" She whines.

"Not until you explain to me one thing!" Beca demands.

"Did you look in my car trunk?" Chloe asks suspiciously.

"Why? Are the ovaries you're never gonna use stored in there?" Beca snaps and Chloe freezes.

Chloe swears under her breath, and turns the shower off, peering frightened around the shower curtain, pulling it around her body even though Beca's freshman year of college, it was already established that she had no boundaries.

"Chloe, what's changed your mind?" Beca begs to know.

Chloe reaches out for the towel and Beca surrenders it, Chloe wrapped it tightly around herself and carefully climbing out of the shower. As she squeezes her hair, wringing it out for one of the last times before she knew she would probably start losing it, she looked into the mirror, watching Beca staring at her as she did so.

"It was meeting with Eva that made me realize the materialistic idea of surrogacy. We were thinking with our heads at something that seemed to make sense, when we should have been thinking with our hearts! I'm never getting married to that one handsome guy so why bother either way?"

"What do you mean?" Beca asks, trying to follow her little spiel.

"There are plenty of kids who need a home, so why would we take a chance with surrogacy, potentially bringing another child into the world, when there are so many kids already here without a home!"

This was all so new and eye-opening to Beca. The answer had been sitting right in front of them, how unimportant having a child was right now in the midst of this cancer diagnosis, and when it was finally time to have one, that they could foster, bringing light into other children's lives who had gone through their own share of tough times.

"Well, I feel like it would be unfair trying to foster a child while you're too sick to even move while receiving chemo." Beca infers.

"It doesn't have to be right away. But we do have to take classes to foster and it could be a few years before even adopting. But please, look into it! Seeing Eva seriously has made me want to help others who have been through tough times, and this will be the good that comes out of my cancer diagnosis, what I want to do with it." Chloe insists.

Beca followed along, not having the heart to break Chloe's, and nodded in agreement, promising to discuss it when the time came closer, and Chloe sighed in relief, feeling her heavy heart fill with a temporary peace, the most calm she has felt in the last months since she's received her diagnosis.

-XXX-

" _Momma, can Chloe take me to preschool today?" Maisie asks, pulling at Beca's blazer._

 _Beca looks from Maisie's pleading eyes to Chloe who was lying on the couch, her bald head covered with a bandana, and her glassy blues starring painfully at her._

" _Sorry honey, she's not feeling up to it today. Remember, chemo makes her very sick."_

 _Maisie, a disappointed four year old, sulked as she lowered her head and shoulders, walking over to Chloe as she went for a gentle hug._

" _When you're less sick, can we go play?" Maisie asks._

" _You bet. I promise we will." Chloe weakly smiles._

 _Maisie was still too young to comprehend the pain that Chloe was facing, yet alone able to even digest the idea that anyone could be in so much pain that they couldn't play 'dolls' or have tea parties, or even for Chloe to push Maisie on the swings anymore._

 _On her best days, after the side effects have passed two weeks later or so, Chloe would try to muster up the energy to take Maisie out while Beca worked, taking the child out to ice cream, or a picnic in the sand at the lake._

 _The other day, before receiving chemo, Chloe had been left in charge of Maisie while Beca worked, and Maisie had been running senselessly around the house, full of energy when Chloe had decided to take the girl out for a walk._

 _Maisie glared up at Chloe as she held her hand, Chloe smiling down back at her and walking her down the sidewalk on the side of a calm neighborhood. Maisie swung their hands back and forth, looking curiously around and pointing at all the little things, adoring how the birds would fly and how it was possible for squirrels to climb trees._

" _Chloe?" Maisie breaks their silence._

" _Yeah Sweetface?" Chloe remembers the nickname and Maisie blushes._

" _What makes you so sick? Why can't you just be happy? Momma and I love you!" She asks out of complete innocence._

" _I don't know Sweetface, I just don't know." The response broke Chloe's heart._

 _As the two walked home, Chloe felt herself growing tired before the world started to spin around her. The treatments had made her feel weak, but never to the point where she felt like passing out. Chloe calmly breathed, walking slower as to not startle Maisie._

 _Bead of sweat formed on her forehead even though the temperature was a near sixty degrees. She felt her hand lose its grip from Maisie as her heart continued to pound, and felt her knees buckle, collapsing to the ground before everything went black._

" _Is she breathing?" Someone shouted._

" _There's a small child with her!" Another shouts._

 _Maisie stands over her, crying as she's overwhelmed by the people around her and the noise of an ambulance pulling up. As she's escorted by the police away, being pulled away from the crowd as she watches three men load Chloe, draped with a big vinyl sheet over her, into an ambulance._

Chloe flies up into a sitting position, wide eyed as her heart racing and her breathing vigorous and she breathed deeply and slowly, trying to catch her breath. Cold sweats covered her forehead and even though her body felt hot, her spine felt as though prickly chills like electricity were being sent through it.

Chloe looked at her alarm. _4:07;_ it read. Beside her, an almost ten month old Maisie laid beside her in a pack n' play, her first real night away from Beca as she had to fly out for a meeting in New York overnight, in which she didn't give much details. She promised she would be there for Chloe in time for her appointment, but Aubrey had taken her instead if she didn't make it.

Her hand first flew to her head, then over to Maisie, peering over the crib to find the child restlessly moving around, trying to get comfortable before sleeping with her butt in the air and her cheek pressed against the mattress.

"Oh, Thank Goodness." She mutters, leaning back as she pulled her covers back around her, trying to fall back asleep, but soon found her overwhelmed emotions over the dream wouldn't let her.

It isn't long before Maisie wakes up for a diaper change and feeding. Chloe thaws the milk from the freezer in warm water as drops it in and walks over to Maisie, lying her down and unzipping her sleeper as she slides it off. She reaches for the drawers of the dresser that houses their TV, and pulls out the outfit she had bought for Maisie, but couldn't use until now because it was too big and Maisie, just recently in the last few months, began spitting up and pooping up her outfits less, wearing bibs less often, and nicer outfits, outgrowing her onesies other than just for bed and breakfast.

"Aw, you look so precious, like a little lady." Chloe remarks of the outfit.

Chloe peels a banana and breaks off pieces, allowing Maise to reach for the pieces and feed herself a light snack before her milk. Much to Chloe's delight, she notices that Maisie was reaching for the foods with her left hand, much like her momma.

"Ms. Maisie Elise, you wanna be just like your momma." Chloe dotes over her.

The curly haired child smiles, banana gushing all mashed up out of her grinning mouth, flashing her two, middle bottom teeth. Chloe lifts the child off the counter, wiping the drool from her chin and the banana from her shirt, and lets her crawl around while she cleaned the bedroom.

Chloe listened to her music, singing along and belting out her words, but as the music softened, she heard Maisie trying to hum along sweetly. Sticking her head around the door, she saw Maisie peering around the corner, smiling suspiciously at her, but when Chloe directly looked at her, she turned around and crawled away after clapping her hands.

"I'm gonna get you!" Chloe called, chasing the child as she sped up, looking behind her and giggling, as if she found the situation humorous.

"Oh Maisie!" Chloe gasps, stopping in her tracks, glaring around the living room, showered with torn up toilet paper, as well as Diggity, laying next to the couch, toilet paper shreds scattered in his fur.

Her eyes grew wide, and they welled with tears, as Chloe walked toward her and picked her up, setting her into the pack n' play she had moved into the room, and instantly regretting not putting her in it, or even keeping a closer eye on her in the first place.

"That was very naughty." Chloe lectured softly, knowing that the child, though Maisie knew she was up to no good, didn't fully understand the consequences of her actions.

"Well, it looks like it's time that we get some safety locks." Beca grins, as she sets her suitcase in a chair, and looks around the room as she walks in.

-XXX-

"Beca, I feel nauseous." Chloe groans as Beca covers her with a heavy blanket.

Beca runs to the kitchen and pulls a plastic bowl out from underneath the counter and sets it down next to Chloe's bed as she leans over, just in time to utilize it. Beca scoops her hair into a pony, tying it up then drops it, rubbing circles around Chloe's back.

"You good?" Beca finally asks.

"Yeah, I think so." Chloe moans.

The side effects of chemo had hit Chloe like a train going full speed. Just the day before she had received it, and only hours later she grew weary, vomiting and shaking, cold sweats all over her body. She felt like a lot was being taken out of her but what killed her spirit the most, was the fact that due to the radiation, she couldn't cuddle with Maisie for the next 24 to 48 hours, and it crushed her.

"Just sleep it off, it will get better, I promise." Beca smiles, scooping Maisie off the floor and bringing her into the other room.

As Chloe regained her strength in the next two weeks, Beca struggled with Maisie, who in just a month and a half would be one, and was already pulling herself up on furniture, cruising around on it as she tempted herself, letting go and trying to step but only being a tease, quickly grabbing for the couch again when she realized she couldn't do it. But she definitely was a daredevil, just like her mother.

"Maisie, what are you doing peanut?" Beca asks amused.

It was then without thinking, that Maisie let go of the table, standing up on her own before falling backward, losing her balance.

"Maisie, you big girl! Just wait until Auntie sees you!" Beca gushes proudly of the child.

Beca knew it wouldn't be long before she could walk. After all, Maisie walked pretty well with a walker, and with the help of holding Beca's and, or even Chloe's hand, she could take a few steps.

A few weeks later, after Maisie major milestone and Chloe unknowing about it, because Beca wanted her to see if first for herself, Chloe regained her strength and she and Beca took Maisie to a children's museum.

They took her to a little area, designed specifically for smaller children, and found her a small shopping cart, encouraging her to fill it with the plastic food, tossing it inside and helping her push it around. Maisie shakily moved, holding on tightly to the handle so she could stay upright, and walk around.

Maisie happily let go and crawled around, placing the plastic pear in her hand in front of her as she sat up, and tossed the apple out of her other hand, then picking the pear up to put in her mouth.

A crawl-through cave, built with hands on objects for the children, including interactive sand pit digging for plastic fossils and rocks, as well as actual water streaming in a light rain down the side of the cave wall. Maisie crawled over and splashed in it, wetting the front of her white baby bubble vest, and Beca pulled it off, allowing her long sleeved teal, flowered onesie underneath to get wet as she pulled herself up on the wall, rubbing her hands along the rubberish plastic wall.

Maisie fell asleep on the way home, lightly snoring as Beca and Chloe softly listened to music, still overjoyed with the exciting day they had. Upon arriving home, and attempting to take Maisie out of her seat without waking her, Maisie, without any inclination that she was awake before, popped her eyes open as Beca open the car door, and squealed happily at the sight of her mother, reaching out for her and lifting herself up.

"Ahhh?" Maisie's eyes lit up with amusement, wide awake.

"Oh no, little one! It's way past your bedtime!" Beca jokingly warned her.

As Beca changed her and prepared her for bed, bathing her and briskly drying her off, then putting her in her sleepers, she sat Maisie on the floor, in between her and Chloe, who were facing each other from opposite sides, and watching as Maisie curiously crawled around, shaking a bottle Beca had filled with beads, tightly screwing the cap on.

Maisie tossed the bottle toward the couch, where Chloe was resting with her back against it, and began crawling over, scouting over Chloe's lap to reach the bottle, then pulling herself up on the couch, looking for the bottle she had thrown that way. Soon giving up, she went to sit herself down, but instead, held onto Chloe's hair, pulling out a loose patch near her scalp, firmly gripping it as she took first a step with the help of Chloe, then another, taking a step without a hand to help, reaching out to her mother to catch her if she fell.

"C'mon Sweetface!" Beca cheered her on.

Maisie stood in place, unsure of what to do next. She stood, her left foot she had taken a step with in front of her, and her other behind, unsure how to move the two together. But then, shakily as she struggled to keep her balance, she attempted to move the foot forward, then one more big step before falling forward, reaching out into her mother's arms.

"Aw Peanut, good job!" Beca exclaims, setting Maisie on her lap as Maisie looks for her approval, clapping her hands proudly together at the praise she was receiving, the three celebrating one of the many milestones of Maisie's childhood.


	11. Chapter 11

"Beca, I feel nauseous." Chloe groans as Beca covers her with a heavy blanket.

Beca runs to the kitchen and pulls a plastic bowl out from underneath the counter and sets it down next to Chloe's bed as she leans over, just in time to utilize it. Beca scoops her hair into a pony, tying it up then drops it, rubbing circles around Chloe's back.

"You good?" Beca finally asks.

"Yeah, I think so." Chloe moans.

The side effects of chemo had hit Chloe like a train going full speed. Just the day before she had received it, and only hours later she grew weary, vomiting and shaking, cold sweats all over her body. She felt like a lot was being taken out of her but what killed her spirit the most, was the fact that due to the radiation, she couldn't cuddle with Maisie for the next 24 to 48 hours, and it crushed her.

"Just sleep it off, it will get better, I promise." Beca smiles, scooping Maisie off the floor and bringing her into the other room.

As Chloe regained her strength in the next two weeks, Beca struggled with Maisie, who in just a month and a half would be one, and was already pulling herself up on furniture, cruising around on it as she tempted herself, letting go and trying to step but only being a tease, quickly grabbing for the couch again when she realized she couldn't do it. But she definitely was a daredevil, just like her mother.

"Maisie, what are you doing peanut?" Beca asks amused.

It was then without thinking, that Maisie let go of the table, standing up on her own before falling backward, losing her balance.

"Maisie, you big girl! Just wait until Auntie sees you!" Beca gushes proudly of the child.

Beca knew it wouldn't be long before she could walk. After all, Maisie walked pretty well with a walker, and with the help of holding Beca's and, or even Chloe's hand, she could take a few steps.

A few weeks later, after Maisie major milestone and Chloe unknowing about it, because Beca wanted her to see if first for herself, Chloe regained her strength and she and Beca took Maisie to a children's museum.

They took her to a little area, designed specifically for smaller children, and found her a small shopping cart, encouraging her to fill it with the plastic food, tossing it inside and helping her push it around. Maisie shakily moved, holding on tightly to the handle so she could stay upright, and walk around.

Maisie happily let go and crawled around, placing the plastic pear in her hand in front of her as she sat up, and tossed the apple out of her other hand, then picking the pear up to put in her mouth.

A crawl-through cave, built with hands on objects for the children, including interactive sand pit digging for plastic fossils and rocks, as well as actual water streaming in a light rain down the side of the cave wall. Maisie crawled over and splashed in it, wetting the front of her white baby bubble vest, and Beca pulled it off, allowing her long sleeved teal, flowered onesie underneath to get wet as she pulled herself up on the wall, rubbing her hands along the rubberish plastic wall.

Maisie fell asleep on the way home, lightly snoring as Beca and Chloe softly listened to music, still overjoyed with the exciting day they had. Upon arriving home, and attempting to take Maisie out of her seat without waking her, Maisie, without any inclination that she was awake before, popped her eyes open as Beca open the car door, and squealed happily at the sight of her mother, reaching out for her and lifting herself up.

"Ahhh?" Maisie's eyes lit up with amusement, wide awake.

"Oh no, little one! It's way past your bedtime!" Beca jokingly warned her.

As Beca changed her and prepared her for bed, bathing her and briskly drying her off, then putting her in her sleepers, she sat Maisie on the floor, in between her and Chloe, who were facing each other from opposite sides, and watching as Maisie curiously crawled around, shaking a bottle Beca had filled with beads, tightly screwing the cap on.

Maisie tossed the bottle toward the couch, where Chloe was resting with her back against it, and began crawling over, scouting over Chloe's lap to reach the bottle, then pulling herself up on the couch, looking for the bottle she had thrown that way. Soon giving up, she went to sit herself down, but instead, held onto Chloe's hair, pulling out a loose patch near her scalp, firmly gripping it as she took first a step with the help of Chloe, then another, taking a step without a hand to help, reaching out to her mother to catch her if she fell.

"C'mon Sweetface!" Beca cheered her on.

Maisie stood in place, unsure of what to do next. She stood, her left foot she had taken a step with in front of her, and her other behind, unsure how to move the two together. But then, shakily as she struggled to keep her balance, she attempted to move the foot forward, then one more big step before falling forward, reaching out into her mother's arms.

"Aw Peanut, good job!" Beca exclaims, setting Maisie on her lap as Maisie looks for her approval, clapping her hands proudly together at the praise she was receiving, the three celebrating one of the many milestones of Maisie's childhood.

 **-XXX-**

"Beca, you have to invite your dad and Sheila to Maisie's birthday! You need to patch up whatever you have against him and invite him! Maisie's nearly a year old and he hasn't even met her yet." Chloe protested.

"Why would I want my step-momster anywhere near my child, when she didn't even want me around?"

"C'mon Beca, you know that's not true! Give her a chance! For me?" Chloe pleas as Beca groans.

"I understand you're mad, and that you and your dad had some falling out but give him one chance!" Chloe adds, pulling Maisie onto her lap and bouncing the squirmy child on her knee.

"Okay, but you gotta stay in the room with me when I call him, for back up." Beca insists.

"Back up? What is this? A middle school playground fight?" Chloe laughs.

Beca searches her contacts, finding her dad's number near the very end, and presses his name. As the phone rings, she puts it on speaker and waits, hearing a click of him picking up on the other line.

"Beca?" She hears her dad's muffled voice.

"Hey pops." She mutters sarcastically.

"Beca I'm glad you called, there's something I've been meaning to tell you!" He excitedly insists.

"Yeah, me too I guess." She says awkwardly and Chloe nudges her, mouthing to her to be nice.

"So how are you, Jesse and the baby?" He asks.

Beca freezes, looking at Chloe who shrugs, unsure what to say.

"Woah... That got awkward real fast." Chloe mumbles.

"You know, you're a real disappointment for backup!" Beca whispers, snapping at Chloe.

"So, Chloe and I are hosting a birthday party, just a small gathering for the Bella's and I to celebrate together, and Chloe was wondering if you wanted to come?" Beca changes the subject.

"Beca, be nice." Chloe whispers.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You're the one who said I should invite him." Beca whispers back honestly.

"We would love to." Her dad doesn't hesitate to answer.

"No, I mean just you dad." Beca adds.

Chloe burns Beca a look, and pinches her arm, threatening to grab the phone and invite her step mom herself.

"But if Sheila wanted, I guess she could tag along." Beca adds in annoyance.

"Great! We'll be there! Tell Jesse we can't wait to see him and Maisie!"

"About that dad…" Beca begins.

Beca was feeling guilty that the last time she called her dad was right after having Maisie, and back then, after she had given birth, she was way to overwhelmed and exhausted to tell him about her and Jesse.

"Sheila and I are so excited to meet our grandbaby! Especially since Sheila and I are, um... well Beca, we're expecting a baby soon." He informs her nervously, more serious now.

"Oh, isn't it crazy that she'll have an aunt or uncle closer to her age to play with? We'll need all the practice we can get!" Sheila exclaims in the background out of uncontainable excitement.

Beca begins a coughing fit, utter shock surging through her as she hold the phone away from her face, and Chloe takes it, holding it away and waiting for Beca to finish, patting her back, and secretly rolling her eyes at her over reaction.

"Aren't you guys a little too old for that kind of fun?" Beca finally remarks.

"Beca, it wasn't planned, but Sheila is only forty-two. We knew it was a possibility, just not likely."

"You expect this child from my step-monster to be my new sibling and for us to get along, despite our age difference?" Beca asks in disbelief.

"Ideally yes, realistically, no. But Beca, please try to accept the fact that you'll have a new half-sister or brother. We can't change that." Her dad insists.

"I don't know dad, it's a lot to take in so soon. But I'll guess we'll see where this will go and give her a try. See you Saturday, around one, okay?" Beca finishes.

"See you Becs." He concludes, hearing the other line click as Beca hangs up.

"Well, I didn't see that coming." Chloe adds and Beca shoots her a look.

"If telling my dad that I'm separated from Jesse right now wasn't bad enough, now I'm having a new half-sibling, who is going to be almost twenty-three years younger than me!" Beca snaps.

"My brother is three years younger, my sister is two years younger, and I have a four year old niece!" Chloe reminds Beca.

"Yeah, but that's normal! Besides you like your family; My dad and I have had some rough patches. Anyway, you see them like every holiday, and your sister and you always seemed to have gotten along."

"Beca, even if you don't feel like Sheila is family, at least you know at the end of the day, your dad will always have your back. And with the Bella's, it's a sisterhood that you can go home to at the end of the day, and we'll always still love you. You'll always still have us to lean on when you need someone. It's a sisterhood that supports you forever. "

Beca leans over and sets her head on Chloe's shoulder as Chloe moves the hair from Beca's face and wipes her watery eyes with her sleeve. Stroking her hair, she pulls it back over her shoulders and rubs circles on Beca's back soothingly.

"I just don't know how to talk to him anymore. We don't understand each other like we used to." Beca sighs.

 **-XXX-**

"Beca, you seem stressed; Does somebody need a hug?" Chloe teases, sneaking up behind her, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl who was eating at the counter.

"Maisie's party is in three days, and we're expecting an evil Tina Fey to show up."

"What?" Chloe stifles a laugh.

"We all know Sheila is a 'baby momma' for this child. That's all she's ever gonna be to me: The baby momma to my dad's new child and my future half brother or sister." Beca implies.

"You know what Beca? We should go on an impromptu trip, just the three of us." Chloe suggests.

Beca turns in her chair, facing Chloe, looking as if she was contemplating and actually taking it into consideration.

"Chloe, i'd love to, but isn't this kinda of last minute?"

"Um, that's kind of the point of it being called an 'impromptu' vacation! It's supposed to be spontaneous!" Chloe insists, trying to get Beca on board.

Beca walks over to her calendar, flipping the page to the next month, which would start in just under a week. She grabs a pen and marks some notes, then turns to Chloe.

"We look pretty open the week of the ninth to the sixteenth." Beca informs her.

"Where could we go on such short notice?" Chloe wonders aloud.

"We take a road trip; Take Maisie on the beaches and we can go to all the restaurants, and even make cool stops at places along the way."

"On the way to where?"

"Florida! That's the perfect place for a last minute vacation! Nothing too fancy." Chloe specified.

Beca circles the date on the calendar, leaving a note to remind herself, ' _Book a hotel'_ and ' _Save for gas money'._ She then walked over to Maisie, scooping her up from the floor and bouncing her on her hip.

"What do you think peanut?"

Maisie, clearly not understanding the excitement, smiled at her mother, clapping her hands together, and squirming from her mother's arms, her new skill of being able to walk a fascinating new obsession, the young girl loving to explore curiously, being able to get to and from places quicker, but still not the easiest mode of transportation. She still fell and was somewhat wobbly, relying on Chloe's or Beca's hand for longer periods of walking.

"Sweatpants and strollers, take advantage of this service while you have it." Beca lectures Maisie as she slides her leggings over her diaper.

 **-XXX-**

The morning of Maisie's party, she was extra excited even though she couldn't really understand the importance of her first birthday. Maisie crawled, which she had decided was easier than walking, around the house, climbing onto the couch and playing ball with herself, rolling it to one end, then crawling over and rolling it back to the other.

She was on her fourteenth round of the game when Beca had come from the kitchen, and brought in a handful of deflated balloons, sitting on the floor to blow them up, then tying the ends and tossing them to the side. She glanced over at Maisie, very energetic and easygoing at the same time.

Maisie picked the ball up and held it over her head, tossing it with her short arms, mustering up all her strength to send the ball all the way to the other side of the couch. Instead of landing in her reach of the other end of the couch, it bounces off the side and onto the floor. Quickly and carelessly, Maisie crawls to the end of the couch, wanting to turn around in order to climb down, but instead, gets too close to the edge, falling forward and smacking her chin on the wood table.

"Oh, Maisie!" Beca coos, scooting over to scoop the child in her arms.

Maisie whimpers, sniffling and gasping in between furious sobs, her face looking more terrified than hurt itself. The shock of the sudden fall had startled her and it became clear that Maisie was more scared, cuddling herself into her mother's lap as Beca rocked her from side to side, trying to console her, calming the young girl as she hummed.

When Maisie was calm, Beca handed one of the pink balloons to her, distracting her from remembering the fall, and allowing her to toss the lighter and softer object around in the air as she finished blowing them up. Nothing more than a small, bluish bruise had formed on her chin and her lips were swollen, but she continued on, only rubbing her chin, until Beca offered her a frozen teething ring to hold to her chin after noticing she had been rubbing it for awhile.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Chloe had come in and scooped Maisie on her lap, tossing up the balloon for her to hit back and forth.

"Do you need any help?" Chloe offers.

"Can you watch her? We already had one accident today and she's gonna have a lovely bruise on her face already." Beca grumbled sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'll take her to pick up the cupcakes and her own little cake." Chloe suggests.

As Chloe struggles to fit Maisie in her carrier, and hold it up, her arm growing weary fast, she realizes it might be time to move her into a bigger chair, and facing it backwards in her car, despite the child's outward appearance of looking short and thin, much like her mother's.

Chloe glances in her mirror, noticing Maisie's feet hanging on each side of her carrier, then sees her toss her teething ring up into the air, flying far enough to hit the back of Chloe's seat.

"Maisie, gentle." Chloe warns her in a calm, yet firm voice.

Maisie's new habit of throwing things and hitting was becoming a problem when Chloe had placed the child in a cart, and everything she placed in the basket was attempted to be thrown out. Various time Maisie had picked things up, and Chloe had taken them from her, before finally, Maisie had grabbed Chloe's keys without her knowing, and tossed them from the cart somewhere in the store.

Chloe scavenges through her purse, grumbling under her breath before realizing that she remembered briefly seeing Maisie with them before, shaking them to make them jingle, enjoying the noise they made.

"Maisie, you're nothing but trouble, sweetface." Chloe laughs.

"No!" Maisie utters, swatting her hand at Chloe, catching her off guard.

"Maisie Elise, that was very naughty." Chloe warns her, feeling herself losing patience with the child, as well as her usually soft approach at discipline.

Maisie burst into tears instantly at the warning, sulking at Chloe with a fake cry, as Chloe ignored the tantrum and fake cry as she continued about the store, searching still for her lost keys. When she finally felt like calling it over, and texting Beca for a lift, she looked into the cart, realizing the shiny key had been thrown into the mess of food, splitting open part of the bread bag.

"If I only knew that you'd be just like your mother sooner, I'd never take you out in public." Chloe groans, smiling at the now content toddler.

 **-XXX-**

Few family friends and the entire Bella's except for Lily, who had decided her true calling was to 'travel through time', arrived, chattering excitedly and making each of their rounds holding the birthday girl, dressed in her pink tutu much to Beca's dismay but Chloe's delight, and an adorable jean jacket over her white onesie underneath that exclaimed ' _Guess Who's One?'_ on it. A small cloth and handmade gold-ish colored headband was wrapped on her head.

Aubrey, who had only been married two months before, sat beside her husband Grant, as the two joyfully watched Maisie crawl around, and longed to start a family of their own one day, though they weren't quite ready.

"Hey 'Brey." Beca called as she entered the room, carrying a few bags of chips and pretzels.

"You and Chloe are going on vacation?" Aubrey asks, making small talk.

"Yeah, we're taking it the beginning of next month."

"With a young child? You're amazing." Aubrey teases.

"Enjoy your time with Grant before your child sucks it all up." Beca warns her jokingly.

"But in the best way possible." Chloe adds.

Aubrey laughs and leans into her new husband, Grant, kissing him jokingly on the cheek as the two were obviously still in their honeymoon stage of marriage. The two blush at each other, and Beca jokingly gags, rolling her eyes at them both from the kitchen.

A knock at the door interrupts Beca in the kitchen, flying with wet hands, grabbing a towel and opening the door. Outside, stands her Dad, and an obviously pregnant Sheila much to her surprise. But what she doesn't see, is Jesse walking down the sidewalk leading to their door, a present in his arms as well as a balloon tied around it.

"Jesse?" She whispers, not to make her dad suspicious.

"Got the gift like you asked, dear." He smiles, and she nods.

Jesse follows a furious Beca into the kitchen, watching her down a glass of water before turning to look at him. But when she sees him, glowing as he held the daughter the two shared, despite Jesse only seeing her a few times when Beca travelled for work and brought Maisie to stay with Jesse much to Chloe's disapproval.

"Sorry Jess, I just didn't think you would seriously come! It's been a month and I've kind of forgotten all about our talk."

"You haven't forgotten about the divorce not being official, so technically, we're still together."

"And I intend to fix that very soon. But this isn't important right now. Today is Maisie's birthday and I intend to keep it about her. So try and not be selfish enough to screw up her day." She snaps.

"Right." He sadly mutters.

Jesse follows her back into the living room, and her dad smiles at Beca as she and Jesse sit next to each other on the couch, keeping at least four inches between them, and Maisie crawls, pulling herself up on Jesse's leg before he picks her up.

"Hey, little one." Dr. Mitchell exclaims as Maisie reaches over to her grandpa who she had never met, holding out her arms to be held by him.

Beca shifts uncomfortably on the couch, watching as Sheila reached out to her daughter, smiling at her with what Beca thought had to be the most fake smile she'd ever seen. Sheila knew her younger sons, who lived with their dad, would get free tuition if she stayed with Dr. Mitchell. Beca knew she could just be paranoid, but ever since her parents bitter divorce, she looked out more for her father, despite their distant relationship most of the time.

Beca clears her throat, moving her hand as Jesse reaches over to hold it, stepping over the boundaries they had made prior to this day.

"Why don't we open presents before everyone leaves, so we can thank you in person." Beca suggests to everyone's approval.

After the party, when she thought everyone including her dad and Sheila had left, She found herself and Jesse in the kitchen, whisper-arguing as they were washing and drying dishes together. Chloe played on the floor with Maisie, while also semi- trying to get the room clean, which felt impossible with a young child.

"She can't know! It would be unfair, especially since it would be selfish to leave her!" Beca snaps.

"But it wasn't selfish to leave me?" Jesse retorts.

"She's sick! She needs someone to take care of her!"

"Aubrey or someone can't do that? Doesn't she have family? How about you stop acting like her mom or something and let her boyfriend take care of her!"

"She needs me! She's my best friend!" Beca insists.

"And Maisie needs me! Isn't it unfair to her that her parents can't get along? How did you feel when your dad left your mom in a bitter divorce?" He adds.

Beca clenches her teeth, trying not to explode in rage as she slammed the glass plate from her hand into the drying rack for Jesse to wipe with a dry cloth. Upon impact the glass shattered, and Beca felt angry tears sting her eyes as Jesse tried to help, but she only pushed him away, insisting to be left to clean it herself.

"Beca, taking care of her isn't your responsibility so I don't understand why you're taking this upon yourself!"

"I can't believe you would find it acceptable for me to leave her! You don't understand!" She pleads.

"Like you felt it was okay not to come with me when what our daughter needs is us together? You know, it's awfully immature to hide this from your dad! You're gonna have to tell him eventually Beca, it might as well be now, or never. Us being 'us' has really come down to you."

"If you feel so strongly about 'us', why'd you sign the divorce papers?" She adds incredulously.

"Because I thought it would make you happy Beca! But clearly I can see that 'we' mean nothing to you anymore, and certainly doesn't matter to our daughter either. Shouldn't you be the less selfish one and start basing our decisions together around what's best for our daughter and not just for you?"

Beca flips the lid of the garbage can open with the foot pedal and scrapes the glass pieces off the dust pan, into the bag. She lets it slam angrily, the hurt stinging as she felt defeated. He was right, and she didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't change everything so suddenly, nonetheless leave Chloe.

"What do you think we should do Jesse?" She grumbles through her teeth, finally looking at him.

"I have a proposition for you; Shared custody." He finishes.


	12. Chapter 12

Beca buckles Maisie into her backward facing 'big girl' seat, feeling overwhelmed by the fact that her daughter has finally outgrown her carrier to fit into a bigger chair. Chloe finishes throwing her baggage into the back of her car before buckling into the passenger side, Beca taking the first driving shift of their long road trip.

Halfway to their first stop, after fifteen rounds of 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider', and after hearing the word 'Moist' being repeated on most of the children's songs, cringing every time in annoyance, Beca had pulled into their first stop after four hours of driving, ready to trade places, allowing Chloe to drive the other half of the afternoon.

The two stopped at a playground, allowing Maisie to get out and run around, releasing energy she had built up over the last few hours of driving. Maisie instantly flew out of her mother's grasp, toddling away from her mother after pulling her toward the playground, her eyes lit up at the swirly blue slide, reigning over the sandpit.

"Momma!" Maisie pointed toward the slide, and pulling for Chloe's hand instead, insisting on the ginger taking her up to it.

Chloe swoops Maisie up and places her at the base of the stairs, holding her up and steadying her as she attempted to climb them. To Chloe, the slide seemed like nothing more than a small drop, but to Maisie, she felt like she had climbed a mountain, smiling down proudly at her mother as she sat on Chloe's lap, pushing off the top and flying down.

Maisie grew tired after only what seemed like the hundredth time, the thrill growing lesser with each time, and became slowly more hungry and irritable. After the last time down the slide, Maisie curled into an exhausted Chloe, rubbing her eyes as she snuggled into her arms, Chloe carrying the tired child on her shoulder back over to Beca, who had been watching from the bench.

"Looks like it's time for a nap." Beca notes upon seeing Maisie snuggled into Chloe.

They carry Maisie back to the car, resting the child back in her carseat, and Chloe climbs behind the driver's side this time, Beca being able to recline her seat and rest her eyes as Chloe would drive. They wouldn't arrive at their hotel for another two hours, but until then, Chloe would take on the busy rush hour traffic, as Beca and Maisie rested.

When they arrived, the sun had sunk in the sky, and Maisie had felt a little more rested, while Beca, still exhausted, chased after Maisie in the elevator, holding back her hands to keep her from pushing all the buttons. Three floors later they arrived, and upon seeing the two big beds, Maisie insisted on climbing on them.

"Maisie, no." Beca scolded and she fell onto her butt instantly.

Maisie had later fell asleep, exhausted from the long day, turning in early with Chloe as she fell asleep on her chest, tucked underneath her arms snug and warm, Beca covering the two, her heart melting at the sight only before tucking herself in, preparing for the long and final road trip the next day.

 **-XXX-**

"Wow Chlo! It's gorgeous!" Beca admires as they drive over the state line into Florida.

"I think there's a beach somewhere around here; We should get out and let Maisie run barefoot in the sand." Chloe suggests.

"There's beaches everywhere Chloe! I'm just so excited for her to 'discover' sand for the first time!"

Chloe pulls into the parking lot of an outdoors seafood restaurant, with a beach behind it. They stand from the car, admiring how clear blue the water was as the blazing sun hit the water at just the right angle, making the water look as if it shimmered. The sand was hot beneath their feet, but wearing flip flops would only make it harder to walk. Maisie's face lit up at the feel of the coarse yet soft grains of sand through her toes, wiggling it out, then scooping it into her hands and letting it run through them.

Maisie tossed sand up in the air, smiling as the sand littered itself into her hair. Chloe smiles as Beca groans, setting down her chair and towel, and running her hands through Maisie's curly hair in an attempt to shake some of it out.

"Maisie, we don't throw sand; It stays on the ground." Beca reminds her calmly, as she scoops her hair into a small pony.

Chloe lays out her towel and her chair beside it, rolling up her tank just above her stomach, allowing her bare stomach to absorb the hot Florida sun, as Beca showed Maisie how to build a sand castle, and watching as she giggled, splashing the lapping waves at the shore up. But when Maisie ran alongside the shore, she tripped over her own clumsy weight, falling face first into the water, and coming up with a mouth full of sand. Beca runs over and pulls her up to her feet, brushing off the young child and using her finger to sweep some sand out of her mouth.

"You need to stay with either Momma or Chloe, okay?" She repeats, and Maisie nods in understanding.

After a while, Beca decides a picnic on the beach was appropriate for this weather, and walked back to their stake-out, finding Chloe laying in her chair with glasses over her face, her skin turned a rash red, a shade much darker than her ginger hair, which at this point, was thin enough to the point where she had to even put sunscreen on it to protect her scalp from burning.

"Um Chloe, I think you overdid it on the suntan oil." Beca informs her with concern.

"What?!" Chloe sits up in a confused daze.

Chloe looks over, grabbing for her beach bag, pulling out the bottle she had lathered on her skin, coming to the realization that she had grabbed the wrong stuff, not even knowing how it was possible.

"Do you know how bad this is? I'm supposed to protect my skin!"

"And you thought lying there with your shirt up, covered in tanning oil would be the solution? Chloe, you're specifically supposed to stay cover up to protect your skin! What in the world made you think that with cancer, you should expose your skin to direct sunlight?" Beca lectures her, tossing her a large umbrella to cover over her chair.

"Beca, this isn't turning out like I'd hoped. Stupid cancer, limiting me to what I can and can't wear, limiting my energy, my life! It feels like it's controlling me!" Chloe exclaims.

"Chloe, it may feel like that, but truthfully, I feel like you're giving cancer a butt-whooping! I've seen you at your worst, and everyday I look at you and wonder where in the world you get your positivity, strength, even courage from."

"I don't feel very courageous, just stupid." Chloe grumbles.

"Chlo, I lie in bed at night worrying about what trouble it's gonna get you in. Wondering if I'm gonna be the one to bail you out of jail one day."

Chloe sheepishly smiles, blushing vigorously as she laughs, and nods. She then looks at Beca and rolls her eyes in disbelief.

"You'll probably bring me a weapon to cut myself out of jail. You know you wouldn't have that kind of money for the crimes I would commit." She laughs.

"Doubt it." Beca teases.

The two hug, Chloe wiping the tears from her face as Beca reaches into her bag, pulling out aloe lotion and handing it to Chloe, as well as a bottle of water.

"Stay hydrated." Beca informs her.

"Beca? How does my scalp look? Hideous... Does it look bad?" Chloe asks.

"Chloe, you could only have one eye, half of your face gone, or a poor face job and you'd still look beautiful! I swear you couldn't look ugly if you tried!" Beca reassures her.

Maisie climbs onto Beca's chair, reaching into her beach bag before digging her hand into a bag of animal crackers, taking a fistfull and trying to eat two at a time. Beca takes the crackers from her hands, laying them in front of her so she wouldn't feel so rushed, and pulled out a small sippy cup with her remaining breast milk in it. Beca had been trying to wean Maisie for weeks now, her breasts leaky and sore as she refused to pump anymore, but before bed would give Maisie any remaining milk left over in the freezer.

She would get whole milk with breakfast in an attempt to slowly wean her off breast milk and accumulate to the new taste of whole milk. Maisie had grown up more and more each day, and had even started to prefer that Chloe would read her bedtime stories, loving the way Chloe would change her voice for each character specifically in her book.

Maisie reaches for Beca's sandwich, popping open her mouth in an attempt to get her to share it. Beca smiled at her, breaking off a piece for her to hold onto and chew, as well as a few raspberries, into her hand.

"Can you say please?" Beca asks, holding her hand back until Maisie tried to say it.

"Ppppease…" She stuttered, trying her best to say it, and Beca accepted, smiling at her.

Lunch soon wrapped up, and Beca decided to get out Maisie's stroller, wanting to take a walk along the boardwalk, letting Maisie rest while still being able to get fresh air, but avoid too much sun, making her already somewhat cranky. Beca still wanted to see around Florida, but didn't want to deal with a cranky child, missing out on an opportunity to see another place other than home.

Quickly the day was coming to the end, the soft, golden Florida sunset now visible from the hotel room, and Maisie lay in bed, sleeping snuggling in her mother's arms, while Chloe lay sideways off her bed, collapsing from the exhaustion of the long day.

 **-XXX-**

"Morning Chloe!" Beca exclaimed as Maisie climbed on Chloe, snuggling into her arms.

That morning Chloe had woken up feeling extremely weak and sick. Her body ached and her skin felt like it sizzled at the touch of simply a blanket or the tap of a finger, and having Maisie snuggled beneath her was comforting despite the discomfort of a bad sunburn.

As Chloe leaned over the bed, dry- heaving, Beca grabbed Maisie down from the bed, and reached for their popcorn bowl on the nightstand, bringing it around and setting it on the floor in front of Chloe, her timing impeccable as Chloe hurled over it, the stench filling the room and covering her hair while Beca sat behind her, trying to catch it before she puked on herself anymore. When she finished, she rolled back and groaned.

"Chloe, you need to go take a cool shower, you'll feel better." Beca suggests.

"Way too much sun yesterday." She groans.

Chloe's frail frame ached, Chemo taking a toll on her already small body, making her look malnourished and tired, her face resembling a twenty year smoker, droopy and tired looking. Chloe shuffled with the help of Beca into the bathroom, turning the water on as Beca prepared herself and Maisie for the day.

Suddenly from outside the bathroom door, Beca hears a loud slam of something falling in the shower and called Chloe's name, knocking on the door.

"Just knocked the shampoo over!" She calls unconvincingly.

"Chloe, you're dehydrated! Drink some water!" Beca demands, placing a bottled water on the counter next to her folded towel.

When Chloe's hair was dried and she was dressed, her bathing suit underneath her shorts and long sleeved shirt, Beca frowned with disapproval as she entered back in the room.

"Chloe, you need to keep your legs covered too!" She lectures.

"When did you turn into my wife?" She jokes as she digs through her suitcase.

"Here." Beca tosses her skinny jeans that she easily could roll into capris.

Chloe still felt too sick to want to really go anywhere, but wasn't too sick to move, so agreed to go to an outdoor seafood restaurant that Beca had wanted to check out.

The Florida sun beat down with its warm rays, nearly eighty degrees outside, making Chloe yank at her long-sleeved shirt, rolling up her sleeves. The two had chosen to sit under a table umbrella to avoid the direct sunlight on Chloe's balding head and thin skin, but didn't prevent the smoldering heat.

Maisie sat in a booster chair placed in an adult seat, scooted closely enough to the table so that she wouldn't fall out and could still reach her food. She looked with curiosity at Chloe, too young to understand the unimaginable pain she was going through. Chloe had rested her head in her arms, a pounding headache only becoming more sensitive in the sun.

"Chloe?" Beca asks with concern and Chloe responds with a groan.

"Chloe, you feel really warm. Maybe being out in the heat isn't such a good idea." Beca reconsiders.

"I'm fine Beca, I don't want to ruin this day for you." She grumbles.

Beca slides a water glass toward Chloe, hoping for her to take a drink, reassuring Beca that she was still okay. Chloe looks up from her arms, resting her head sideways on her left arm and stirring her water with her straw, reluctant to drink it.

"Chloe, if you're too sick I'd rather you be at the hotel, than miserable here. We understand." She consoles her.

Chloe weakly smiles, nodding exhausted as Beca helps her up, and scoops Maisie out of her chair, hoisting her up on her hip as she walks Chloe back to the car. Beca helps Chloe in after buckling Maisie, and starts the car, turning the air to the coolest settings it would allow. Chloe reclines her seat, imagining that the cool air from the car vents were actually a beer cave, cool smoke swirling around her in cold blasts, her warm body forming goosebumps on her arms, causing her hairs to stand up.

" _Man, reality sucks."_ Chloe thought to herself.

 **-XXX-**

As their three day vacation neared an end and they prepared for their two and a half day road trip once again, Beca and Chloe decided to pack up their things and go up the coast, exploring all the attractions they wanted to see as a one-stop shop kind of thing. The drive was two hours long, but they both were insistent on seeing one thing they really wanted to before leaving, and besides, it was on their way anyways.

As Beca struggled to get her phone's gps to cooperate, Chloe stared straight ahead on the road, the blazing sun prohibiting a clear view of the road ahead. Once they got closer, the sun seemed to have faded and the day became overcast, cloudy and gray, and the temperature had dropped to a mere seventy degrees, the coolest it had been the entire week.

"Shared custody, huh? So does this mean the divorce is official." Chloe shook her head in disbelief and Beca shrugged.

Chloe had sensed uneasiness from Beca the entire vacation, noting that she had been constantly frowning at her phone during the nights, an uneasy and concerned look on her face. The night before Chloe had built up courage to ask her, and Beca had told her almost the entire truth, except for the tiny detail that Jesse had suggested leaving her, which Beca knew couldn't possibly be an option, so she settled with an agreement for shared custody.

"Honestly, I don't know how he thinks it's gonna work. We don't have the money or a possible way to keep sending Maisie to New York, and I'm sure as heck not moving there." Beca reassures her.

"How would he even think this would work?" Chloe grumbles, tapping her fingers impatiently on the wheel as she slows down for the coastal traffic.

"He claims he only wants what's best for her." Beca responds in an annoyed tone.

"It's not fair to Maisie to have you two fight like this! Why hasn't either one of you brought that up! She's way too young to be fought over and passed back and forth like this! You need to work something out!The way I see it you're both being selfish."

Chloe peers back in her rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of the small child in her seat, glaring into the mirror Beca had put on the head of the seat for Maisie to stare into when she was just a baby. Chloe watched as Maisie brought her feet to her face, wiggling her toes with hands just as she and Beca did when they played 'This little piggy' with her. But the first real thing Chloe noticed about the child was her face, a red rash that had broken out into hives on her smooth face, and her small lips pink and puffy.

Chloe was quick to pull over, startling Beca from her anger towards her phone,causing her to look up.

"Chloe, what's going on?"

"Beca, Maisie's face is swollen. Is there anything that she could have touched or eaten?"

"Nothing recently." She shakes her head, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Seafood? Did you give her any shellfish?" Chloe observes.

"You aren't supposed to give them that before two years old."

Chloe drove across the road, backing up in order to turn around, remembering passing a hospital about twenty minutes before. The entire ride was filled with tense silence, the girls pondering on what could've caused this reaction before a clue came to Chloe's head.

Just minutes before leaving the beach, Maisie had been stung by a bee she had found fascinating, swatting at the small insect as if it was a game, and the bee had stung her on her hand, as she had hit it in just the right way. Chloe had no idea if this was a delayed allergic reaction, but she knew for a fact that Beca was allergic to peanuts, and carried an epipen with her.

"Can we give her your epi-pen?" Chloe asked suddenly.

"You think this is an allergic reaction? Look Chloe, even if it was, I couldn't use my adult pen on her."

Upon arriving, Beca had scooped the child from her chair, carrying her on her shoulder as she ran into the emergency clinic, hugging her tightly to her as Maisie without the slightest idea, cried as the doctor laid her on an exam table, shining a flashlight into her eyes and mouth, tussling around in a dazed hurry, overwhelmed by the commotion.

"She's definitely having an allergic reaction, and the area of which she was stung is swollen too. We're giving her some Benadryl and she should be okay, but i'd keep an eye on her, and bring her right back if it worsens." He informs them and the girls sigh relieved.

Chloe picks Maisie up off of the table, resting the overwhelmed and exhausted child on her shoulder as the two walked out of the clinic, and Beca starts the car as Chloe places her in her carseat. They decide together to cancel their plans for stopping anywhere else and head straight home instead, happy that Maisie was okay, but still somewhat bummed that they didn't get to walk the boardwalk to its entirety.

Upon arriving at another hotel along the way finally around two in the morning after ten long hours of driving, Beca throws herself against her bed, instantly forgetting that she was fully dressed but instead instantly falling asleep with Maisie between her and Chloe, a small one bed hotel room all they could find at the early hours of the night.

Beca wakes up to the sound of Chloe in the shower, and with Maisie's feet in her face, the tiny child sprawled out on the bed, hogging most of the covers. Beca climbs out of bed, walking to the refrigerator and looking for any snacks they left in there only to find nothing but a cold cup of coffee, which she takes out and warms in the microwave along the table, not caring whether or not it would still be good, needing the extra boost to get through the day.

"Chloe, you're not the only one who needs to shower!" Beca shouts after Chloe had been in the shower for twenty minutes.

No more than a few minutes later she hears the water shut off, and the sound of the hair dryer running loudly in the bathroom filled the air and Beca smiled, remembering the cute little thing Chloe did, where whenever they were at a place without a dryer, she would warm her towel with a hair dryer, soaking wet, and by the time the towel was snuggled tightly around her body, she was already starting to air dry, and the floor was a swimming pool of water at her feet.

Chloe peers her head around the door, sneaking out in her towel so that Beca could shower, and Beca grabs her suitcase, slipping into the bathroom and locking the door behind her. She began to turn the shower knob, waiting for it to warm, but the truth was, she really didn't need to shower and wasn't there to.

Beca opened her bag, sliding the zipper open as she rummaged through it, pulling out the wrapped package and pulling her pants down as she ripped it open. Just the month before, when she had visited Jesse, things had changed. She was in New York for a business trip and had paid a visit unintentionally to Jesse, and the two had gone back to his apartment to catch up, discussing their plans for shared custody of their daughter.

Beca looked down, feeling as though that one thing leading to another could possibly happen, though she didn't think it would. Now she found herself in a hotel bathroom, Chloe outside the door, watching Maisie as she expected her friend to be showering, but instead Beca stared down at the cheap, plastic, stick she found at the hotel pharmacy, watching as one line appeared.

"Not pregnant?" Beca whispered unsurely as she stared at the stick, squinting hard, trying to see if she really saw another line or if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Beca slips the test back into her bag, sliding it into a small pocket she never used, and flushed the toilet as she pulled the knob on the tub faucet and climbed inside, unsure if it was the shower water or tears running down her face, but felt her heart sink, fear welling up inside as she watched the water swirl down the drain.


	13. Chapter 13

"Chloe, it's time that I'm honest with you." Beca glares at her, sitting cross-legged next to her on the bed, and feeling nervous tears stinging the back of her eyes.

' _I don't have to do this, but I care about her too much not to.'_ Beca thought to herself.

' _No, I have to do this, she's my best friend and Maisie's God Mom.'_ She corrects.

Beca vividly remembers the day in the hotel just two weeks before, when she had taken a pregnancy test. Chloe had decided to take Maisie down to the pool despite just showering, while Beca stayed back, claiming she had to pack. Instead, she had thrown the test into the bushes outside their room window, and picked up her phone. She knew she couldn't have a deep conversation before Chloe got back, but she knew she needed to grow up and be mature, deciding that she wanted to put Maisie ahead of hers and Jesse's problems.

"Beca, you don't have to explain anything to me that you don't want to." She hears Chloe reassure her, though through all her thoughts, it sounded distant.

" _Hey Jess," She mumbles seriously upon hearing him pick up._

" _Hey, what's going on?" He asks, taken by surprise._

" _Jesse, what we're doing to Maisie, it just doesn't seem fair. We're both adults and together we should find a solution to our problems, rather than making our daughter the root of our disagreements."_

" _Beca, I'm not moving. My job pays well, i'm happy, and this is where I feel I belong."_

 _Beca blows air out of her cheeks, tapping her nails on the bedside table as she twirls the phone cord on the old phone on the table around her fingers._

" _Well things change, and what I thought I wanted, may not be the same. Jesse, we both want different things in life and our daughter is literally the only thing that's keeping us connected right now."_

" _What are you saying Beca?"_

" _I'm gonna be the bigger person, and compromise with you."_

" _But Beca, how is that fair!"_

" _Let me finish! If you want to see our daughter, you need to move closer or you need to pay for her to fly back and forth."_

 _Jesse sputters, his face shocked at he shakes his head, resting it into his hands._

" _Beca, I can't possibly afford to fly her back and forth. And she only a year old! How would it be fair to pass her back and forth like that? You know, maybe being separated would be best. You and Chloe have already been around, practically raising her. Maybe it doesn't make sense for me to try to be in the picture at all, instead of coming around and always stressing out each others lives and putting Maisie in the middle of all it."_

" _You would rather never see our daughter than pay for her to fly out? Isn't that selfish?" She asks incredulously._

" _Of course not, it's just not reasonable to have to pay for her to fly out!"_

" _And you think us moving to New York would be any cheaper?"_

" _Look Beca, I love her more than anything, but right now I think it's best for me just to stay out of your lives. It's not like she'd know the difference because i'm never there anyway. Maybe when she's older she can have the option, but for now…"_

" _This is it; You're leaving." She finishes for him._

 _Beca's voice cracks, her throat drying up as she holds back angry tears, but her body sinks into deep relief. It felt confusing, but she knew it was for the best, and strangely for her, she felt confident in their decision._

" _Good-bye Jess." She concludes bitterly._

" _This isn't the end." He reassures her._

" _It sure feels like it."_

" _Let me give you a little proposition… Incentive, rather." He began and Beca listened fearfully, his every word stinging like needles. "Do you remember when you came up here and you couldn't stay away from me?" He grins to himself._

" _How could I forget?" Beca replies distastefully. "Except I believe it was you begging me to come back."_

" _Well that's not gonna happen again, unless you don't let me see my daughter. So either you move here and be my wife again without Chloe, or I'll see to it that I take you to court, and receive sole custody."_

" _What happened to wanting to compromise? The divorce? Everything? What is wrong with you?" She spat, confused and scared all at once. "You can't show up suddenly and demand to be in her life. It's one thing to be a dad and have it on a birth certificate, but it does_ _not_ _make you a father! A father would always be present, and not just want to take his daughter for the sole purpose of revenge on his ex wife and her friend. You're a selfish monster!"_

 _But surprisingly Beca didn't feel hate or resentment, she hadn't felt bitter towards Jesse or even upset with him. She was confused at the very least but she had felt it coming for awhile now, and knowing what the status of their relationship was, firstly trying to work out a mutual agreement made Beca feel for the first time in months like she had confidence and reassurance that it was gonna be okay._

 _It was comforting for her to know that she had a group of girls to support her and a best friend who cared for her and loved Maisie very much like her own. And now was the time for Beca to focus just on helping Chloe get better. At least she would try, but there was no guarantee that Jesse was just angry and jealous that their marriage ended, but after all, it had been expected. For Beca at least, because this wasn't the first time she saw this behavior in Jesse and it hadn't made any sense why he wanted everything his way other than the fact that he was used to Beca always shutting everyone and their ideas out. Maybe he was sick of her and realized this marriage was a mistake and the only good that came of it was Maisie, who had softened him. But that was for her to tell in another lifetime._

 _It had been slowly that he changed; Subtly at first, then she saw the hate in his eyes. The pent up anger that they were fighting for sole custody even after they tried to work out a shared custody agreement. He would do anything for his daughter in whom he missed the first year of her life, but Beca was his barrier. She was as stubborn as a mule, hard headed, thick skulled. But if he lost her he would lose Maisie too, so he had to work out a plan to keep them both. Rephrase that,_ _ **trapped.**_

"Beca, what is it?" Chloe cooed, lifting Maisie onto the bed and into her lap.

"Chlo, I...I…" She stammers, struggling to find the words as Chloe rubs her back. "Jesse wants to bring us to court, for sole custody." She finally spits out, tears streaming down her face as she watches her clueless daughter.

"What? He can't just demand sole custody when he hasn't been present for a majority of her life already. Beca, there's no way they'd grant him custody, and you have to tell them that."

"We don't have a choice, it's either court or getting back with him and either way it's a lose-lose situation. But at least if we get back together, I'll still have Maisie."

"Why would you have to get back together? He wants a divorce, he presented you with papers."

"But that's before I went out there to visit him for the 'business deal'." Beca throws quotes around "business deal", gesturing what she really meant and Chloe caught on.

Clearly with a negative pregnancy, or any inclination that she had or could be pregnant at all meant they had done more than just their deal. They weren't sure if it was the whiskey Beca had accepted because Jesse knew she had been sad and she thought he was being kind when he offered it to her, or if he had just took advantage.

She was a grown woman, and she hadn't thought she was dumb enough to get back with Jesse, but the liquor and her life had ruined her judgement. Now she was stuck, Jesse getting what he wanted all along; Beca to come running back, though the trip was never made with those intentions.

"Beca! He's manipulating you because he thinks that no matter what you'll eventually have to back down and give him what he wants. He knows the only way to break down your walls is to hit you in just the right spot!"

"He wants Maisie, not me! Or maybe he wants the 'inevitable' family he always told me he wanted to have! But if it's the only way I can keep Maisie, it's no question. The only thing standing in my way is you." Beca cried, laying her head in Chloe's lap.

"What do you mean by, 'standing in your way' exactly? I'm a roadblock to your happiness?" Chloe began to feel hurt and worry bubble up in her chest before Beca held her hand reassuringly.

"It means that choosing court or the loss of Maisie is a no brainer, but the worst thing to happen is when my best friend and my daughter are put into jeopardy over a decision I'm forced to make. That's my roadblock; Not wanting anyone to get hurt, not you specifically."

"Why would you have to choose? Obviously it's always family first! It's always been family first and no matter what you have to do, it'll be for your family. But that's when you'll feel exhausted, always putting others first."

"Chloe, I'm a mom. I don't get to be selfish in this! Whatever I decide will be in favor of what's best for everyone, not just me. And as far as family goes, this decision isn't easy because you are family, Chloe." Beca weakly smiles, pulling the ginger into a hug.

"We're going to figure it out! Don't worry about me! I can move in with my parent, readjust, get a new doctor! We'll find a way, there's always a way!" Chloe returns the smile.

 **-XXX-**

"Alright, we've got an appointment with an attorney as soon as we return after the fourth! Gina will help us out but you're going to need to start but helping her out. So record the messages Jesse sends, don't initiate any conversation unless he starts one with you, and keep them to a minimum." Chloe begins as she clicks off her phone.

"Don't tick him off, threaten him, or give in to what he wants, and if he threatens you in anyway, contact the police first, then Gina." Chloe informs Beca as smoothly as a cop could read off someone's rights.

"But first, let's focus on you and getting you better so we can visit Aubrey for the fourth of July barbecue." Beca takes her hand off the steering wheel, guiding Chloe's phone back into her lap.

They were headed to Chloe's scans, finding out today whether or not the chemo worked of if she'd need more extensive treatment. Chloe had received her last round of chemo about a month and a half before and was ready for this all to be over. She prayed the scans would be clear, that the cancer hadn't spread. She wasn't worried about more cysts or tumors or whatever because she had her hysterectomy months ago. The only thing in her way now was the potential that it had spread.

If it had, Chloe would be devastated. All this pain, sickness, months of needles and IV drips and nurses, all the hair loss and the low self-esteem would have felt like it had been for nothing. She feared that they couldn't cure it, that she wouldn't be here for when the other Bella's had babies, to watch Maisie grow. But then again, she would be one less factor for Beca to worry about in any of her decisions she needed to make.

"Let's try to keep a positive mindset, but not too hopeful." Beca interrupts Chloe's thoughts as she turns off the freeway, signaling to turn right at the stoplights.

Maisie kicks the back of Chloe's seat impatiently, restless from the long drive to the hospital. Beca and Chloe, depending on how Chloe felt afterwards, planned on taking her to an indoor trampoline park made specifically for kids. There was an area for toddlers that Maisie could enjoy while Beca and Chloe relaxed, or they could jump too as long as Maisie was supervised.

"We're almost there, Lise-y." Beca looked in her rearview mirror, watching as tears welled up in the little girl's eyes. "If you're a good girl today, maybe we'll go to the jump park." Beca bribes her, careful not to actually promise anything.

As they pulled into the parking ramp and walked to the elevators, Chloe felt as if her heart was going to burst. Not only in the way that she was anxious beyond belief, but the fact that her heart felt full to burst. She was grateful that even in this moment unknown, her 'sister' and niece (per say) were there for her, ready to bend and break, to do anything they could to make sure she was okay.

She had that feeling again; The one where she felt like throwing caution into the wind because she didn't know what life held for her or if today was her last. Not the literal last, but part of her felt that she would fall apart and welt away if her results were positive. That feeling of so much happiness she could cry from it, happy tears of course!

She winces as they draw her blood, and anxiously taps her foot as they do her scans, being reminded more than once to keep still. She couldn't wait to put this behind her, if this was truly the end. She had prayed for this day non stop, wanting so badly to feel normal again, not her new normal but what she wanted to see her future be like. And then it was time, the sentence that she had dreaded more than a diagnosis itself:

"We won't know until tomorrow at the earliest. We'll let you know when the labs come back." The doctor concludes, throwing his gloves in the trash and looking apologetically at the girls.

Chloe wanted to cry, she wanted so badly to curl up and pretend that it wasn't bothering her. But she also knew that anticipatory anxiety towards not knowing was normal. That it was only a waiting game and before she knew it she would know. But she couldn't help but rerunning the words of the doctor through her mind.

 _Was it a bad thing that they didn't know right away, or was a wait normal? If it was bad though, wouldn't it appear right away? Or would it be harder to find? Or was it easier if it had progressed throughout the body?_

Beca could sense her uneasiness so she reached her hand over, resting it on top of Chloe's as she drove with her other. They had decided to postpone the park until Chloe was feeling better anyways, back to her full strength. But they both knew that Chloe had felt find and were just making excuses. She needed a distraction, not to think about things she couldn't control.

"Beca, no matter what we find out, I don't want it to affect your decision. But I want you to know I appreciate you and all you've done, all you've given up to help me." Chloe finally breaks the silence.

"Chloe, this is one of the few things I've ever believed to be inevitable in my life!, That when you or anyone of the Bella's falls sick, we help each other out; You helping me with Maisie and your diagnosis is what the Bella's are all about."

"But it wasn't meant for you to drop everything, and carry my burdens!" Chloe pleas and Beca rolls her eyes.

"We were made to help each other out, and the Bella's was a sisterhood that promised to support each other through the rest of our lives. That's what you and the other's have done for me, and it doesn't matter how uncomfortable, we always return the favor." Beca smiles, hoping that Chloe would understand how unnecessary a 'thank-you' was, because she already knew. "You are not a burden, Chloe! You guys are one of the best things to happen to me."

Maisie cries as Beca's phone goes off, interrupting the very needed nap of the crabby toddler. Beca hands back some animal crackers while Chloe checks her phone and Maisie tosses them on the floor much to Beca's dismay.

"Maisie Elise! We don't throw food on the floor! It goes from your hands to your mouth, or you won't get a snack at all!" Beca chastened as she grew frustrated with her naughtiness lately, and when they would stop for gas she would make the little girl clean them up.

"But speaking of babies, has my dad texted about Sheila yet? Is the baby here yet?" Beca suddenly grows serious, even though she hated for Chloe to know she secretly was anxious for her new siblings arrival.

"Yes, they texted a while ago. But now 'Brey just texted me." Chloe interrupts to acknowledge Beca's phone.

"What does she want?" Beca asks, ignoring the fact that she had a message from her dad.

"That's what I'm gonna find out." Chloe snaps, Beca surprised by her sudden sarcastic remark.

She opens the picture message, her jaw dropping open and she squeals through the fingers covering her mouth, passing the phone over to Beca.

" _Bella or Treble, Princess or Rebel? Either will do, we're expecting two!"_

Beca too squealed as she couldn't draw her eyes away from the picture, specifically the poster with the ultrasound. Aubrey and her husband sat on either side of the poster that was painted in pink and blue coloring, Aubrey with her left hand painted pink and her right blue, the overjoy and excitement obvious in her glowing face, and even though she was probably just a few months, her face was chubby and rounded, and her belly poked out through her navy blue tank, a pink cardigan covering her shoulders and falling at her hips, making her look more pregnant than she really was.

"Twins? I can't even begin to imagine…" Chloe mumbled, smiling at Maisie playing contently on the floor.

"We should go see her around the time of our reunion, shortly after the babies are born, I'm assuming." Beca suggests.

"You should go work out whatever business you have with Sheila and your dad. She's not a witch you know, she's actually pretty nice."

"She's well behaved in social situations." Beca informs her.

"Please Beca, I've got baby fever just waiting to looking at that cute face, and now with the news of Aubrey being pregnant, I'm kind of feeling down." Chloe whines.

"Fine, we'll make a trip up there after the baby is born and when my dad and Sheila are settled in." Beca agrees, knowing that it would take awhile.


	14. Life is a Highway

I'm back! This chapter isn't really a filler for lack of ideas as much as it being a filler or a foreshadowing for all the adventures yet to come. Of course you have to start to build a storyline and up anticipation for what to come because I can't spoil it all at once! Look out for the next few chapters where we'll cover Jesse and Beca's custody battle, Chloe's cancer remission (or maybe not), and some other fun things that I don't want to spoil! I've said too much! One more thing, thank you for everyone who had followed, favorited, or reviewed! I see you all and appreciate your feedback! **Thank you too,** **FightSong** **for your lovely reviews on every chapter, and for helping me out with constructive critism and your questions! Thanks everyone for keeping me on top of things like continuation errors and ideas! Like I said, I appreciate and see you all!** Now on to the story!

* * *

As Beca struggled to find a place to park on the street by Aubrey's house, she glanced around the neighborhood, wondering how on earth Aubrey could live in such a beautiful, neighborhood. She after all, only worked as a camp counselor, but on the other hand her husband Grant was a published writer on law on the side of being a lawyer. It was perfect for them. For Aubrey to stay home and be a mommy like she always wanted once the twins come and have that discipline trait instilled in the kids.

All the houses were big, three story homes at the end of a cul-de-sac, a median cutting down the street lined with big trees with September leaves, all red, and yellow, and brown. It was gorgeous and homely looking. She felt at peace, and once she found a place to park, anticipated to see what the rest of Aubrey's place looked like. This was it, the Bella's were all adults, taking different paths in life, yet this is exactly how she could picture it. Well, minus the lawsuit headed her way.

The backyard was beautiful; It smelled of freshly mowed grass around the perimeter of the pool, and picnic tables aligned perfectly on the cemented patio. Big, rainbow umbrellas hovered above the tables, the awning that normally was there rolled up above the glass, screen doors. She had a sprinkler going for her dog to run through at the corner of the yard, and Maisie eagerly wiggled in Beca's arms, dying to get in on the action. Beca set her down and let her run before Aubrey came up to her and Chloe, side

hugging them both, clearly looking bigger than she had in the picture.

"Hey Bellas, you're late." Aubrey looks around to the other girls who had beaten them there then walks away, expecting them to follow.

Grant was grilling on the patio and Benji was talking to him, Beca catching a glimpse of their 'sport related' conversation, and rolled her eyes, thinking of Jesse. He never mentioned sports and she thought she had been grateful for that, but when he would talk through an entire movie about the history and soundtracks, she instantly wished he would talk sports instead. Then at least she could go out with her friends after church on Sundays while Jesse and his buddies would drink and watch football. That's how she pictured her future, and now she realized that was only a fantasy, and she was perfectly content with how things actually are going.

Emily instantly runs up to Beca, forgetting the fact that Beca was not a hugger and wrapping the smaller brunette in a hug. Chloe backed up a bit, frail and weak from all the chemo she had been receiving, and she realized Emily had known that when she instead gave Chloe a small smile and side hug.

"Hey! This is aca-amazing! We haven't all been together since what, the night before move out day?" Emily attempts to make cheerful conversation.

"Em, is that what I think it is?" Chloe suddenly interrupts as she gasps, gesturing to the girl's hand and Em nods.

"Benji asked me to marry him last weekend!" She jumps with joy, instantly being wrapped in a hug from the others.

Grant interrupted the group hug and called the girls to eat as if they were a bunch of teens at a sleepover. They all sat down, Aubrey at the head of the picnic table almost as if it was instinct for her to be in charge. Followed down the table were the following pairs on either side: Jessica, Ashley, Stacie and her third husband, Emily and Benji, Beca and Chloe, Flo and her brother, and last but not least, Grant at the other end.

Maisie sat eagerly on her knees between Chloe and Beca, reaching for her watermelon and making a mess as she picked out the seeds. But before anyone could put anything on their plates Aubrey stood up, smiling over the girls.

"Ladies, I know I'm one for rules, and might be kind of a control freak," She began.

"Might be? Something never change." Cynthia Rose mutters to Flo.

"But today we're going to eat dessert first, because inside the cupcakes is a major announcement!" Aubrey excitedly clapped her hands together as her husband passed her a knife.

"Let me guess, the genders?" Beca replies smartly to Chloe, who only shoved her back jokingly.

"Don't ruin this." Chloe laughed.

On the count of three the girls unwrapped their cupcakes and took a bite, anxiously awaiting to see what gender the twins would be. To their confusion however, Chloe and the others bit into what seemed like nothing until Flo pulled a piece of scrap paper from her mouth.

"I've eaten some crazy things in my country, but this is just pathetic." Flo remarks, and Beca grimaces.

"Aubrey, what the heck?" Beca asks in dismay. "Leave it to her to surprise us like this." Beca turned to Chloe.

"Read the paper." Aubrey encourages, still smiling.

"USO tour, August of 2018?" Stacie read aloud.

The girls look at each other and chat amongst themselves, confusion thick in the air.

"Aubrey, we thought this was a gender reveal." Fat Amy groans, still thankful to have the cupcake.

"What a nut job way to announce this! We could've choked!" Jessica whispers to Ashley, agreeing it was a bit unethical.

"I once almost ate an exploding cupcake." Lily whispers.

"What do you say girls? Can we go on tour together one last time?" Aubrey pleas.

"If you don't pull any other stunts like this again, and give us some details."

"All I can say is that we're going to travel from Spain to France to perform for the troops, and possibly perform for DJ Khaled in the end." Aubrey tries to excite them.

"Sweet, I love margaritas!" Amy jumps in while the other girls jumped at the idea of meeting DJ Khaled.

Beca and Chloe both looked to Maisie, unsure of what to do. They had court, they had Maisie, and most of all they didn't have the money. They didn't want to miss this opportunity but they also didn't want to do anything that could screw them over in the end.

"Uh Aubrey." Beca tries to interrupt.

"All expenses paid since we're performing for the troops!" Aubrey adds as if she already knew.

Well that solved one problem but she knew Jesse wouldn't allow this without going down for a fight. What should have been the happiest moment of her life now felt like the most stuck and confusing. She dreaded having to speak with him, even though she didn't necessarily have to run it across him. But if she didn't want to bring Maisie, she needed to make peace so that he could watch her. After all, he was her dad.

"Oh, and just in case you were wondering," Aubrey looked around with a smirk on her face.

"The confetti poppers at the center of the table have the corresponding gender in them; Self explanatory. Blue is both boys, pink is both girls, but they can't be one of each since their identical."

The girls each grabbed one, passing them down the table and Beca handed one to Maisie, watching as she grabbed for the pull string and Beca feared she would prematurely pull it and spoil the surprise. So Beca helped her, holding the cannon and counting with her kid before pulling, watching as everyone screamed with delight as blue confetti burst out of the small, foil cannons.

 **-XXX-**

Beca and Chloe's next stop was to visit Beca's dad and Sheila to meet the new baby. They weren't sure whether or not it had been a boy or girl, but Beca secretly hoped that she would have a little brother because the Bella's were already like her sisters, and as much as she adored her daughter, she sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a boy. Not that Beca would ever admit to wanting to babysit because she'd be afraid that her dad would start expecting her over and to get along with Sheila all the time.

Sheila wasn't really a bad woman, it was just difficult to like the woman your dad marries after he was the reason the first marriage failed. It was hard to love someone who wasn't your mom the way your dad did, but it wasn't Sheila she truly hated. She just hated to idea of her as a 'replacement'. She actually adored how Sheila was with Maisie and was excited to see this new little one, since she hadn't brought children into the marriage, and Beca never saw her older brother. And now the more Beca thought of it, she wanted a little sister, an auntie for Maisie. Or since she could only think of good reasons for both, she wouldn't really care and would love him or her anyways.

"Are we almost there?" Beca asks a little more eagerly than she intended, sounding like a little child.

She would die if Chloe knew she was warming up to the idea of seeing her sibling, even if it was a rough beginning and difficult time convincing her of going. But after everything that's happened they thought it would be nice to visit her family in Georgia after all.

"It sounds like someone has baby fever." Chloe laughs.

They turned around every curve on that back road, bouncing up in their seat as they go down each hill and Maisie giggled every time. She had Cheerios in her cup holder that spilled when Chloe had slammed on the brakes to avoid an animal, grumbling under her breath. Her sippy cup was rolling around under the seats somewhere and her binky was in Beca's purse only for extreme measures. But Maisie didn't see her put it in there, or she would only beg for it, contradicting the weaning phase.

"We're here." Chloe announces as she turns into the long, gravel driveway and up to the large, mansion like house.

Sheila stood on the front porch as if she had heard them coming from a mile away, anxiously awaiting their arrival. She knew her dad was probably inside cooking something for dinner since it was almost six, fixing a special helping of mac and cheese for an exhausted Maisie.

They had stopped to look at tourist attraction all day, and even this really cool park that Maisie was a little to small for yet. Beside it was an ocean, swimming with all kinds of creatures, and to Beca's dismay, dead fish carcass' that Maisie was eager and curious to touch.

"Beca, darling! You've brought family!" Shelia greets them as she comes off the porch to assist them in bringing in the luggage.

"She-waaaah!" Maisie squeals and Beca laughs.

Maisie was going through a stage where she was repeating everything, trying to sound out new words which also included calling people by their first names. Even though Sheila wasn't exactly Beca's favorite, she still cared deeply for her, and wanted Maisie to call them Nana and Papa, at least until she knew better.

"Why hello Ms. Maisie!" Sheila lights up, the little girl stretching out her arms for Sheila to remove her from her car seat. "Do you wanna go see the baby?"

"Be-be?" Maisie repeats and Sheila smiles, leading her inside.

Beca opens the trunk and removes Chloe's suitcase, hers, and Maisie's duffle bag full of toys and clothes. Beca had rolled her eyes when Maisie had insisted in helping her pack as she brought every one of her toys to the bag, tossing them in. It had made packing harder, but it was cute that she wanted to help. Beca instead redirected her energy into teaching Maisie how to clean up after herself and put things away.

"Let's pray that they don't have a pound of sugar in candy and sweets waiting for her. She's gonna sleep well tonight, we don't need anything to change that." Beca remarks to Chloe as they walked inside.

Dr. Mitchell looked from the kitchen to the living room where everyone was migrating, Maisie happily pushing the swing which the baby was in back and forth as she sat on Sheila's lap. Sheila guided her swings, teaching Maisie to be gentle as the baby cried, disturbed from its sleep.

"Beca," Sheila turns around as Beca's father dries his hands on a dish towel before taking her suitcase. "Your older brother will be here soon; Would you like first dibs on your little brother?" Sheila asks kindly, watching Beca light up.

Beca sat down on the couch and Maisie followed Sheila with the baby to the couch. Maisie snuggled up to her mother, doting over her uncle.

' _Boy, that sounds weird.'_ Beca thinks to herself as she bounces her brother in her arms.

"Bebe?" Maisie asks and Beca smiles as she nods. "Do you wanna know what your uncle's name is?" Beca looks to Sheila, hinting.

"Darcus ." Sheila gloats and Beca laughs uncontrollably before Chloe nudges her, reminding her that it was inappropriate timing.

"You're kidding, right?" Beca asks incredulously. "Michael, Beca, and now Darcus? How could you do that to the poor child." Beca continued, expecting her to announce that she was just kidding at any second.

"Beca," Her father's voice holds warning.

Sheila's eyes grow sad and she looked as if she was gonna cry. It deeply hurt her feelings that her once angry, closed off step-daughter that she had finally began to build a relationship with was mocking her. She almost felt as if it was impacting Beca's respect for her, or for her brother. But Beca quickly stopped when she saw tears were now pouring from the older woman's face.

"It was my grandfather's name; He died in world war two." She adds. "We wanted a strong name so we went with Darcus Alexander Mitchell." She wipes a tear.

"She realizes his initials pretty much spell _Da_ …" Chloe begins to whisper before Beca puts her hand over her mouth.

Beca couldn't believe how much worse she felt. At first she was shocked that the name had gotten worse, but now it was the fact that she had made fun of her half-brother's name that had an actual sad meaning. It wasn't just her parents trying to act like they were young again by giving their kid a weird name like celebrities did. She still thought the name was stupid of course, but she now at least knew there was something important behind such an eccentric name.

"Sheila, I'm really sorry. That was entirely inappropriate of me." She apologizes shamefully before her father cleared his throat.

"How about some dinner? Maisie, Papa's got some mac and cheese for you." He smiles at the little girl, hopping off the couch and running to the kitchen.

At least Maisie could make an awkward moment better because at the end of the day, a loved child was a happy child, and she saw that in Maisie everyday.

 **-XXX-**

Chloe was supposed to get her results any day and the dragged out anticipation that no one wanted to talk about made it a thousand times worse. Chloe needed constant reassurance that things were going to be okay, but she was too afraid to ask someone to talk. She prayed every night, she knew God held the answers, but she also wanted to have the physical sense of talking to someone, touching.

"Dinner sure was awkward." Chloe broke the silence as she whispered to Beca on the top bunk.

Maisie was in a pack n' play in the corner of the room, refusing to go to sleep as she babbled to herself, admiring the sky out the bay window. Beca laid on her side, staring through the cracks in the wooden railing on the top bunk, praying that she would fall asleep soon.

"I just hope we can make it through tomorrow without any drama; You know she's gonna insist we move closer, and she'll use your sickness as an excuse. As if we can't take care of it, when really she probably wants to force a close family relationship or something with me and my two week old brother. It's ridiculous." Beca groans, remembering when Sheila had tried to convince Beca to move in after she had Maisie.

"Do you think she'll ask why Jess and you aren't together anymore? Do you think she thinks I'm the reason your two are…" Chloe begins to imply.

"Of course not Chloe! Jess and I have had problems from the start and all they know is that, so we're going to leave it that way." Beca replies flatly, because it was the matter of the fact.

Chloe rolled over, her phone charger coming from the wall and she groaned, sliding the mattress so that she could push it back into the outlet. Her phone buzzed, showing that it was charging, then it wasn't, and it kept doing so until she flipped the charger around. Her phone restarted itself and she mumbled under her breath, realizing she should probably get a new phone soon.

It was then, when the screen with the apple logo faded into her home screen that she had noticed that she had several voicemails. She was disconcerted because they had a long trip home tomorrow night and a long day ahead at the fair.

But when she saw it was from the clinic, and it had read _2:47 pm,_ on the screen, she wondered how she missed it for that long. Was it her crappy phone, or was she just so oblivious to the fact that she had a call because she had pushed the thoughts of the clinic calling so far out of her mind. But she eagerly opened it pressing the phone to her ear.

" _Hi Chloe, this is doctor Hahn calling from oncology; We have your lab results back…"_ The voice slowly faded as Chloe's jaw dropped and her heart raced as she explained briefly what they had found.

She quickly skipped to the next voicemail which was from their lawyer Gina.

" _Hey Chloe and Beca, this is Gina Whipp calling from 'Stein and Brecht' Law firm. I just was wondering where you girls where because today was our initial meeting to put together a solid custody case. Please call us back, there are some important things we need to touch base on. Thank- you."_

' _Crap!'_ Chloe thought as she felt the weight of life really begin to pile on her.

She was overwhelmed, exhausted, and even though her supposed "last" round of chemo was last week already, she forever felt the side effects taunting her. Her nausea was at a constant during the day, and though she usually muddled through, she would feel terrible for pushing herself at the end of the day. Would she even be able to testify if she was receiving more radiation and chemo? Would they use it against her? What if she can't travel with girls?

Chloe hated all these thoughts that scattered around her brain. It felt as if they would bounce around her head and it physically hurt like a headache. So she rolled over, throwing her pillow over her head as she tried to drown out Maisie talking to herself, and fell asleep quite quickly.


	15. Chapter 15

When Chloe first started her rounds of chemo she tried to focus on the good. The 'before' everything felt like it was falling apart. Before the Bella's went their separate ways and had jobs and families. And the more she thought about it the more she was sad, the more she longed for it again.

But what made it better was the fact that when she thought about those days, she couldn't stop smiling because she knew the memories wouldn't fade, and if they did, she would have a sisterhood that would still last for years to come. So when she randomly would cry during treatments, the other patients would stare from their respective chairs in the room, wondering if she was going crazy, or if she was sick.

Her favorite memories were Bella's ones, but most of all, the few months that Beca had been pregnant in the Bella home. It was a bonding time for the girls, the dream of a new Bella (or Treblemaker) finally coming true. They all had hoped to be pseudo aunts and uncles to each other's babies, and it having happened while they were all still together was the best thing. It was full of new adventure and experiences, trial and errors, but at the end of the day, all the girls could do was laugh about it.

Chloe distinctly remembers a "bonding time" in which the girls decided to throw on some music and put together the nursery together. It was a group project where Chloe (who demanded to be in charge of organizing it since Aubrey was no longer the leader and Beca was too emotional and tired) had decided to split up the girls to accomplish all the baby essentials while learning.

She spent the day bouncing back and forth between the room that was going to be the nursery (which Beca thought was ridiculous bc they were only going to be living there a short time after the baby was born) and between helping Beca and Benji install the carseat.

The girls in the nursery had decided at the end of the day to pop a bottle of champagne, and Beca settled for some sparkling grape juice. They had been a little tipsy for a few hours and all laid on the floor, some cross-legged and others laying curled up to each other. Beca rocked in her chair and Chloe sat at her feet like a child.

"Spill the tea, Sis. Tell us what's going down!" Stacie slurred, liquor thick on her lips.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Beca teases, a smile cracking it's way onto her stone cold expression.

They had known not to ask about things like Jesse, they knew that it would set her off. Her hormones were everywhere and she would be crying one minute, and a fit of rage in another. They hadn't seen her emotions that diverse in forever. In fact, it wasn't until then that she had broken her stubborn walls and stopped trying to mask everything she was feeling. Not to say she wasn't still stubborn.

"We don't even have a year left here; So start confessing, Shawshank." Fat Amy pleas.

"Stop calling me that. Twenty minutes in prison isn't enough and I certainly don't want my daughter to look up to me like that." Beca remarks.

"We wanna know what you're gonna name her. And if you've heard anything from Jesse?" They encourage her.

She hadn't thought about Jesse in months. Not until today at least, when they were setting up the nursery, and for a brief second she thought about what life would have been like if Jesse was still in their lives. It only took another second to shake it out of course, because she loved the Bella's and wouldn't want it any other way.

"He called after I had the appendectomy, but nothing since." Beca says plainly, not to enthusiastic to the conversation.

Chloe could sense her discomfort, she could smell it like a drug dog sniffed coke. So in an attempt to turn the conversation that wasn't related, she took a swig from her glass and smiled at the girls.

"A toast!" She happily sang out and the girls sighed. "To Beca, her baby, and us as a family! Here's to welcoming a new chapter, a new Bella, and new adventure into our lives."

"That was lame." Cynthia Rose muttered under her breath.

"I'm just here for the liquor; And I'll take some more of that if I could just…" Fat Amy reaches over Cynthia Rose for the almost empty bottle.

Beca smiled as she realized how lucky she had been, and Chloe picked that up too. They were all bubbly, (but mostly tipsy), and it hurt her heart so much her cheeks were tired from smiling and there was a lump in her throat all day from wanting to cry at the same time.

"If you could just hand me the bottle Stac," Fat Amy whined as Stacie got to it first, snatching it away from her reach.

"Ladies, there's another bottle in the cabinet if you'd just…" Beca's words screeched to a halt as her eyes began to watch everything unravel in slow motion before her.

Stacie leaned sideways as she fought Amy for the bottle, her glass receiving a blow to its side and tumped over into the white plush throw carpet beneath her. The small, circular rug bleed with rose colored liquid and quickly became stained. She could literally hear the panic in the Bella's as they all looked to Beca, waiting for her hormone fueled reaction.

"What the h-" Beca began but Chloe jumped her sentence.

"Not the white plush rug!" She cried, grabbing a burp cloth from the dresser and haphazardly began to rub at the stain.

"Chloe, don't rub it! You're only make it worse!" Beca snapped in exasperation, and the room went wild.

Fat Amy snatched the bottle back from Stacie, licking the rim of the bottle in a childish way so that no one else would want it back. Stacie stood up, throwing her hoop earrings down as if she was ready to tussle. But before anything else went down Beca threw herself between them, making them pause as not to hurt the small brunette.

"You guys!" Beca's small voice rings over the noise unusually loud.

"It's okay! It happens! I mean, we're all drunk in my baby's nursery, and inevitably it was bound to happen. C'mon, it's kind hilarious when you think about us all drinking around my unborn child because we never thought it would happen."

Beca begins to chuckle hysterically, Chloe follow behind her as she tried to help the other Bella's see the humor in it. And at the end of the day it made a great story. One they could laugh about because really who decided to host a drinking party in a nursery, let alone a bunch of soon to be college graduates. It was ironic, it was cringy, but at the end of the day, they looked back and laughed because it was them. It was a part of their crazy, adventure filled lives. And quite honestly, who would have thought that they'd be having a baby in college.

Chloe loved looking back on that day, and often giggled to herself aloud when she thought of it. She loved remembering Stacie assemble the crib, and yelling aloud when Flo dropped a long piece of the crib railing on her toe. She loved watching Fat Amy jokingly roll paint on Jessica and Ashley to their dismay, until they joined in and made a game of it. More paint had wound up on themselves than it did on the walls, and Chloe had stressed out about their lack of work effort and focus. She begged them to get back to work until they had splattered her with paint, showing her how to relax.

They had gone through old bins and dresser drawers, finding their scarves and tying them together to for a chain that was laced through the curtain rod. It hung their as a bold reminder that they were a tight knit group who found comfort in each other. That the world was a big place outside that window but they were a knit group that together could take on anything. But mostly, it was a symbol of all they had accomplished together and they wanted the baby to find that sentimental piece of cloth comforting too.

There were splotches where the paint didn't reach, and corners and edges of the wall were there was only splatter from the paint. Chloe had yelled at the girls, demanding it be fixed, but Beca only laughed, lying a hand on her tense shoulders. It added character only the Bella's could give it, including empty picture frames that soon would be filled with family pics of the baby and Bella's.

Upon initially seeing what the room had been transformed into, Beca's heart temporarily swelled with gratefulness before laughing at the paint covered, stressed filled women.

"You guys realize we rent this place, right?" She laughs incredulously, and Chloe throws her head back in frustration.

"You did good you guys; And uh...it might be the hormones talking, but in this moment, I love you all tremendously." She beamed at them and they returned back.

"You know what guys, Beca looooves hugs." Chloe smirks mischievously before they all swarm the pregnant brunette in a huddle.

Now that it was Chloe's last time at the center, her last appointment, she wanted to cling to the good memories instead of the hope that she had that they would confirm that she was indead, cancer free. She worried deep down but would never tell Beca about them because they both had a lot to worry about already. Chloe knew Beca would tell her that nothing's as important as her health and wellbeing, but she still felt like a bother.

So she didn't "bother" Beca with her fears, didn't tell her that deep down she knew that they wouldn't be clear just because that was the year she felt that she was having. That all the happy memories with the Bella's were all she had left and even now those felt like they were fading deeper into the back of her mind as she started seeing life differently. She definitely did not take it for granted, it was a gift. But could she have any dream she wanted when a big black hole swarmed in the back of her mind screaming "Jump in!" like a vortex of death.

Okay, so that was a bit dramatic and definitely not how it worked, but she felt herself more tense, as if this was a make or break appointment. Would she need Chemo or would she regain her freedom, one baby step at a time?

Her hair was finally coming in in little red tuffs, and she continued to fill in her eyebrows. She was gorgeous the way she was, she didn't just look like the "Cancer ridden" girl she everyone who saw her without a beanie thought she was. She was more than her cancer diagnosis, she wasn't her diagnosis.

She was Chloe freakin' Beale. Co-leader of the Bella's, sister, friend, Aunt. She was charismatic, charming, loving, big hearted. She would jump into a bus full of cancer before she let anything happen to anyone. And Beca wished people could see that, that they could look at her and see what Beca and all the other Bella's saw.

On this day, as she was waiting in the MRI machine, hearing the lonely whirr of it above her as she felt self-conscious, knowing that the doctors were watching her through a large window. She lay completely still, unable to lift her head to look out. But she knew that Beca was expectantly waiting for good news with Maisie. She smiled to herself as she imagined Beca rolling her eyes as Maisie, who developed a new phase, sat with her impatiently.

Maisie had been showing signs of wanting to potty train, and also developed a phase where she'd ask "why?" after every answer. So when Beca explained that in order to go to the potty she had to take off her diaper, she would question it. Until one day, when she had developed the habit of taking off her clothing to go to the restroom. And that's when, to Beca's horror, it happened. And Chloe laughed to herself as she pictured it in her mind once again, hoping Beca finally found the humor in it too. After all, Maisie was only going into her terrible twos.

Maisie was unnervingly quiet. Beca had heard her padding down the hallway yelling "Potty!" and Beca would usually go with her. Chloe was laying on the couch in her fluffy duvet and Beca was frying grilled cheese on the stove, so she dismissed her at first. After all, Maisie loved running around naked and she was beginning to second guess the potty training thing as a phase and not a 'want' to learn. She only seemed enthralled with the undressing and running around naked part.

"Momma! Potty!" She whined enthusiastically.

"Just a second, baby!" She didn't look up, only hearing Maisie's feet patter down the hall and the bathroom door swing open.

Beca cringed as she heard the door swing open so hard that it hit the wall, and she imagined the wall behind it with a lock shaped dent. She quickly pulled it off the stove, turning off the burners and setting the pan on the back, out of reach.

"Momma!" She impatiently screeched and Beca grew slightly annoyed.

"Maisie, use gentle voices!" She corrected, hating that her child would rudely screech so demandingly.

She was only going on two years old and though Beca loved hearing her tiny voice form words and her sass (that was inevitably inherited from Beca) rang out. Beca wanted to correct the disrespectful tone before it became problematic in her teen years. She wanted her child to speak politely but at the end of the day, she was only two. She knew that excited screeching and screams were apart of the age and she didn't want to discourage Maisie from expressing herself.

"Please momma. C'mere." Her little voice plead.

Beca shuffled down the hall, immediately picking up her feet when she realized that Maisie was suddenly quiet. Until she heard a giggle. Then her heart rate picked up and she raced faster, feeling as if the bathroom door was moving away from her. And then she smelled it, triggering her gag reflex and a deep panic in her chest.

"Momma, look!" Maisie turned around, her palms turned up and reached out at Beca as she laughed.

"Oh my Gosh…. Maisie Elise!" Beca begins to chasten.

Chloe looks up from her blanket barrier and grins in curiosity of what the little girl had possibly gotten into, though she had an idea. So she kicked off the covers and followed Beca into the bathroom, finding her on the side of the tub with a naked Maisie held out far away from her body, over the tub.

Maisie's adorable grin was covered from ear to ear in poop, as was it smeared from her chest to her belly button. It looked like she had drawn something in it, obvious lines in it where her tiny fingers had traced designs. And Chloe's face dropped in amusement to Beca's dismay.

"Well, are you gonna help me or just stand there and watch me slowly die of asphyxiation from these fumes." Beca growled.

"I'll bet you feel bad for being a little 'do-doo head' as a child. It's Karma, Becs." She laughed and Beca shot her an angry glare.

"You know what Chloe? I don't care if you have cancer, you can still go eat cr-"

"Beca! Maisie…." Chloe cautions her before Beca can say something she'd regret hearing Maisie repeat at the wrong time later.

This was definitely one for the books, Chloe snapping a pic to send to the Bella's group chat much to Beca's annoyance, just because they'd have a great laugh at her expense. Of course it was all in good nature, but this was too great to pass up. Chloe quickly took the pics then slid her phone back into her pocket, offering Beca a hand.

The two worked together to clean up the sassy toddler giggling hysterically as Chloe made faces, trying to distract her while Beca lathered her in baby wash. Maisie normally didn't like her hair being washed because the soap always ran in her eyes and she hated when Beca would dump water over her head to rinse it out. But Maisie was distracted while Beca worked fast, trying to clean her body as if she was hitting a moving target.

"Again! Again!" Maisie clapped and Chloe laughed.

"Can you get her to keep still for a minute?" Beca groaned as she missed Maisie with the quart of water, soaking her own shirt instead.

"Okay Miss Maisie, can you close your eyes real tight for me please?" Chloe asks of her and the child looks with uncertainty at her, disappointed that the fun came to a halt.

"Why?" She bellows.

"So we don't get soap in your pretty blue eyes." Chloe tries to reason.

"Why?" Maisie challenged this time.

"Because we don't want owies in your eyes. You wanna see, right?" Chloe tries to reason again.

"Why?" Maisie smirked as if she knew she was testing Chloe's patience.

"Okay, cover your eyes as if we were playing peek-a-boo." Chloe lifts her tiny hands to her eyes.

Chloe finally resigns in annoyance, diverting her attention elsewhere and Beca shoots her a "I told you it wasn't easy to reason with a toddler" look. Beca was almost done and though she managed to suppress the dry heaving, it was permanently burned into her brain (and nostrils, she definitely wouldn't forget this one). She thought that changing a baby was messy, but it was all apart of motherhood, one she would struggle to accept would only get harder before the potty training was finally done.

Chloe handed Beca Maisie's yellow and orange towel with the duck hood at the top, watching as she was lifted out of the tub and cradled into her mother's warm yet sopping wet, grasp. Chloe offered to take Maisie while Beca cleaned the tub and bathroom, cradling the toddler and rocking her back and forth like a baby, much to Maisie's delight. She loved when Aunt Chloe played with her and jokingly teased her.

"Alright Miss Maisie, let's get a diaper on you Pumpkin." Chloe mussed and Maisie shook her head.

"No." She said on autopilot, a new word that Beca had dreaded to be in her vocabulary.

Chloe knew Beca wasn't above bribing her child to get her to listen, as long as it didn't turn her kid into a spoiled brat. It was used sparingly, but the terrible twos were approaching and Beca hated spanking, until it was a last resort. So Chloe looked the little girl in her sparkling blue eyes, smiling temptingly at her.

"How about we get you dressed, then Aunt Chloe will get you a bowl of ice cream?" She wagers with her.

"Yeah!" She happily screeches.

"So you'll put this diaper on? I'll let you try yourself." Chloe knew the little girl loved independence, even if she hadn't the right motor skills for buttoning and fastening yet.

Maisie was a very stubborn and determined little girl, and it took a lot to frustrate her when she wanted to do things on her own. Of course she had tantrums, and Beca was working on getting a handle on it. She herself had put up walls for years and Beca feared that Maisie was going to just shut her off one day. That as a teen she could try and keep Beca oblivious while she snuck out and that seriously scared her. So she encouraged her to talk out what she was feeling, even if she couldn't pinpoint and explain it very well.

Beca let Maisie feel her emotions, as long as she tried talking it out afterwards. She of course tried to keep the tantrums to a minimum and corral the little girl when one did break out, but Beca wasn't a perfect mom, Maisie wasn't a perfect kid, and it took lots of trial and error.

Maisie smiled at Chloe as she was handed a diaper but instead of trying to pull it up and fasten it, she pulled it over half her face, giggling with a goofy grin as she did so. Chloe chuckled, pulling out her phone and snapping a pic like a proud mom would. Beca was big on pictures, but she was embarrassed that her friends would know that she was "that" mom.

Chloe laid down the squirmy child, still giggling as Chloe put the diaper back where it belonged. Her curls were springing back into their shape as her hair dried, and Chloe dread brushing the tangly rats nest.

"PFFFST!" Chloe blew a raspberry on Maisie's bare stomach and watching as she roared, doubling over with laughter.

When the excitement died down and Maisie was quietly picking her nose, (Chloe batting her hand away in disgust) Chloe lifted the toddler onto her lap and began to navigate her way through the curls, quietly humming to her to help her relax.

"Ow!" Maisie's hand flew to her head and Chloe apologized.

"Sorry baby." Chloe mused apologetically, wondering how Beca was handling clean up.

"All done." Chloe cheered, watching as Maisie grabbed the brush to take back to the bathroom.

She wanted to proudly displaying her newfound independence, wanting to do everything her momma did. It was another phase Beca loved because when she cleaned Maisie wanted to help, even if it was only really making things messier. Beca found it adorable that Maisie wanted to copy her, her tiny human following closely behind her with a dishrag while Beca wiped down every surface. Beca would wipe the table and closely behind, Maisie would drag her tiny rag over it too.

Little kids were a lot of trouble, but everytime something bad happened with Maisie, it seemed that it balanced out with something adorable or happy to make up for it. Chloe and Beca cursed her for being so darn cute because it made it hard to stay mad. One time Beca had stubbed her toe and Maisie grabbed her doctor set that she had received for Christmas, kissing her toes before sliding a fake plastic bandage over her toe. Between that and the 'copycat' phase, Maisie somehow always got cuter.

As Chloe and Beca were getting Ice Cream from the freezer their phones pinged, the group chat blowing up and Beca looked to Chloe in disbelief.

"You shared that pic?!" She asked incredulously.

"It was a picture gold mine." Chloe deadpanned and Beca groaned.

"The next diaper is going open faced into your pillow case. Watch your back, Beale." Beca warned jokingly.

 **-XXX-**

Chloe snapped out of her thoughts, feeling as if the last three minutes were spent locked into her frozen body. She couldn't move but she could feel everything, feeling as if she was in a dream. She couldn't move but she watched as her memory faded at the sound of a voice, the radiologist.

"Can I go on the USO tour?" Chloe eventually echoed from the machine the the whirr turned to a hum, then shut off.

"She means is she okay. Is the cancer gone?" Beca corrects when Chloe asks once again in the exam room and the doctor just pulls out paperwork and scans.

Dr. Dobrik looks at the girls and it made them uneasy the way he stared with uneasiness. They weren't sure what he wanted to say but it was the same look that doctors gave their patients when they didn't want to give away that there was bad news.

"Dr. Dobrik? I can start rehearsals, right?" Chloe secours fearfully.

"Chloe, your scans came back clean," He began but Chloe could literally hear the 'but'.

"However, you have been blasted with months of chemo and radiation. If you feel healthy enough to go, go for it. Dance rehearsals are great exercise. But your chemo has compromised your immune system and you need time to get healthy again, so I don't recommend leaving the country."

He apologetically sets a hand on her shoulders and she begins to cry. She didn't care in the moment that he had told her the cancer was gone. All she cared about was being with the girls, and now it seemed that she couldn't do that. They would have her on vitamins and prescriptions, and she could eat better, but she wanted nothing more than to be with her girls.

Now she felt terrible because she knew Beca would want to give up the USO's for her and she didn't want that. But little did she know Beca only cared about her being healthy, and she was busy celebrating the news, dancing with Maisie in her arms as she repeatedly exclaimed "Aunt Co-co's kicked cancers butt." in a sing song voice.

"Guess what Maisie? Aunt Chloe's owies and sick is all gone!" Beca cooed to her and Maisie's large, toothy smile broke her.

Chloe couldn't ground herself, she felt everything spin out of control. She knew she should only focus on the fact that she was alive and thriving, that she was in remission and she had a family. She had the Bellas who had supported her the entire way. But all she wanted to do was cry.

She wanted to cry with joy, cry with fear and anxiousness, anticipation for what was next. She felt anger, relief, and resentment, but also prideful of the other girls and how far they all had come in life. That she was alive to see Maisie grow up, Aubrey's twins grow, to see the others get married and for Beca to find what made her happy. She knew Maisie was her pride and joy, but when would Beca realize that she shouldn't give up on her dream of mixing music just because she was a mom.

Chloe's heavy sobs turned into hyperventilation, her heaving breaths frightening Beca out of her celebration and happy thoughts to quickly turns around and leap to her side, setting a concerned Maisie on her lap. Maisie set her head in Chloe's shoulder crease and Chloe stroked the little girls braid absentmindedly.

"Chloe, we will figure this out; Everything is gonna be okay. We're always gonna be there for each other, so you not being able to go isn't the end of the world. All they care about is hearing that you're okay. There will be other things that we can do as a group, and when you're healthy, I promise me we'll take a trip!" Beca consoles her, her heart so happy and throbby that it made her sick.

Maisie glanced up at Chloe, stretching to wipe a tear that was trailing down her face and kissing her on the cheek. It was effortless and it made Chloe's heartbreak, realizing the compassion that a two year old could hold. It wasn't hard for a child to be empathetic because they saw the world from an innocent view, where everything, every emotion was simplified and classified as happy, sad, or mad. And she could sense the unhappiness and tension in the room and did all she knew to do, what her momma did when she was hurt.

"Co-co?" Maisie cooed, her brow furrowed. "What hurt? Kiss owie?" She asks innocently and Chloe nods in affirmation.

"Why hurt?" Maisie asks and Beca laughs, picking her back up before listening to the rest of Dr. Dobrik's speil.

"We'll start you on some antibiotics because you're a bit feverish still, but we'll check up on you at your next appointment in six weeks, and twice a year after that to make sure it doesn't recur."

Dr. Dobrik exits and Chloe sighs, feeling Beca's arm tightened around her shoulder. When did Beca become so motherly? Obviously it was alway, but the softie had a tough outer shell that very few people actually knew how to crack. There hearts were so full they wanted to cry from joy but also sob. They didn't know how to explain this indescribable feeling of gratitude.

"Did you hear what he said Chlo? He doesn't recommend it, which means there's still a chance you could be healthy enough in a few months to go. We'll keep you on all the different vitamins and change your diet but you could be cleared at your next appointment. But we gotta focus on what's absolutely important and certain; Your cancer is gone!"

Beca was overly enthusiastic and if the situation was reversed, Chloe was sure she would have tried and convinced Beca with the same words of wisdom. Chloe was the first to tend to freak out, but still somehow found the silver lining. It was Beca who normally threw up walls that the other girls would spend weeks trying to break down before coming to the conclusion that she would also need a little space along with it.

"I'm okay?" Chloe asked rhetorically, almost as if in disbelief.

"You're okay." Beca smiles, brushing Chloe's sweaty hair from her forehead.


	16. Inevitable Double Trouble

**Hey guys! Here is a new, slightly angsty and dramatic chapter! It was difficult to write but please remember when you're reading that I am not, and don't have experience in Law or Medicine, so if some things don't add up or make sense, I'm happy for suggests but please give me a break! Enjoy and feel free to leave ideas or constructive critism or if you just wanna talk, PM me! Enjoy! ~Elle**

* * *

Chloe had been reassured countless times that even without hair she was beautiful because no matter what she looked like on the outside, it didn't matter as much and wouldn't change what was on the inside. But she was down in the dumps and the girls had pooled together money to get a wig for her. And at first she was unsure if she should take offense but after careful consideration was grateful for it. It boosted her confidence even though she knew something like hair shouldn't change that.

But it lowered her self esteem because it had felt like it was a part of her; Quite literally. So she graciously took it and every morning before she went shopping or when they took Maisie on adventures, she habitually put it on, routinely brushing through the wavy locks of hair. Some days she would straighten it, and when she had time she would wash it over the tub. Or on her laziest days when the wig is the only thing she would put on besides sweats, she sprayed it with dry shampoo.

Beca would protest saying how she was beautiful without it, but if it made her happy she should wear it. Chloe could go out with sweats and a ratty, spit-up stained sweatshirt, wig or none, and still look like she was going to Coachella. She was a naturally beautiful woman. So when she decided she wanted to get a blonde wig too, Beca was surprised but supportive of the ginger losing her signature color. Maisie though, wasn't too sure.

"Beca, does it look straight?" She looked into the bathroom mirror, staring back at Beca's reflection in the doorway.

Beca walked in behind her, examining it before laughing.

"It looks great… Just tilt your head forty degrees all day." She teases and Chloe scuffs jokingly back.

"Hurry up Chlo, Aubrey can't keep the boys in forever. She's counting on you to be there and I've gotta get Maisie ready for the babysitter." Beca hurries her along.

Aubrey had scheduled an induction at thirty-eight weeks, if the twins would bake that long. She wanted to naturally deliver them and had a detailed birth plan, meticulously handcrafted by the control freak herself. She had typed it so there was no room for error or confusing handwriting.

She typed the plan specifically in Bold at important things, and when she had printed the front and back sheet of paper, she had highlighted specific things for the twins, color coding the boys. Finally, she had laminated it and felt like she was done, but then went on to write a specific plan for each son in their corresponding color.

She nickpicked it down to every last possible scenario, so when her OB and midwife found that Aubrey's twins had placenta previa (her placenta was blocking the opening of her cervix and hadn't moved like they had hoped) they had to switch over to a planned C-section.. Aubrey had cried but at the end of the day was glad the boys were safe. This was just another kink in her "perfect" pregnancy.

Aubrey wanted so bad to enjoy being pregnant, after all, there were others that struggled to get pregnant. But after everything that was and had happened to her, she decided that it was probably going to be the last. However, she would do it for her children again in a heartbeat. Even though a C-section meant longer healing time and she couldn't participate in the USO tour that year. Her heart shattered but next year was going to be better. She could feel it and had to learn to let go.

"She and Grant are checking into the hospital at two and her c-section is at four. We have plenty of time. It's only a 45 minute drive." Chloe reassures her, picking up the curling iron and twisting a lock around the barrel.

"Well, we gotta get moving if we want time to go to-" Beca began but was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

"Who's here? Did you set up a carpool, Chlo?" Beca eyes her suspiciously, knowing it wouldn't be the first time Chloe would organize something without Beca's knowledge.

Beca watches as Maisie reaches for the doorknob, attempting to answer herself before Beca runs up behind her, picking Maisie up and putting her on her hip. She should've locked the door, everything else had safety locks on it. She glanced through the peep hole and saw Grant pacing frantically outside and the door flew open in concern.

"Grant?! What's wrong? Where's Aubrey?!" She gasped, looking around the patio for the blonde.

Grant and Aubrey lived on the other side of the neighborhood, the block over after deciding recently that they wanted to raise their little family by their Bella one . It was an easy commute when they wanted to hang, but Beca hated that when Maisie was little that they would show up whenever. In fact, most of the Bella's lived in the general vicinity of each other except for Lily, who went off to "Travel through time". Whatever that meant.

"She's in the van and is bleeding! A lot! She's bleeding a lot, did I mention that?!" He stumbles on his words.

Beca was sure that somewhere in that sentence was a plea for help, but why was he here and not at the hospital or calling 9-1-1? She could bleed out if it was too much because of possible placental abruption. So was he overreacting and Aubrey told him to come here, or did he just not know what to do?

"Chloe?! Can you watch Maisie for a second?!" Beca yells as more of a command than for permission, following Grant outside.

Beca couldn't believe her eyes! Aubrey's head lay back against the seat, breathing heavily through the middle of a contraction, blood on her palms. It looked like bloody murder, just like a heavy period times three and Beca wondered how she was still conscious.

"Grant, call 9-1-1! We're not leaving!" Beca demands and Grant runs inside with his phone.

Beca walks up to Aubrey, seeing the fear in her eyes as if she was a deer on the side of the road in the dark, watching as headlights passed and exposed it's existence. She looked like she knew something bad was happening, like a sixth sense, and it disintegrated her tough outer shell. She knew it didn't look good.

"You're okay Aubrey; We're calling an ambulance! Just keep talking so I know you're alert and oka!" Beca instructs her, reassuring her by brushing back her matted, sweaty hair.

Chloe came running out with gloves, towels, sanitizer, scissors, and more. Grant was inside pacing and Maisie had been laid down for a nap in Beca's bed, Peppa pig on in the background to distract her from the chaos around her.

Aubrey groaned, making little sense as she just made noises that imitated groans and whimpers of wild animals. She didn't really speak but she'd make eye contact and nod, a good sign. All they had to do is keep her safe until 9-1-1 got there. They just had to keep her oriented and awake.

"Aubrey, squeeze my hand. You're scared, You're tired and confused, you're in pain, but I just need to feel that you're okay. And we're not leaving you, so squeeze as hard as you want. We're here for you." Beca grabs her hand.

Chloe squeezes in, throwing a light blanket over a shivering Aubrey, no doubt have fluctuations of heart rate, blood temperature, and trouble regulation her temp because of the blood loss. They would keep her warm, offer her water, and laid back her carseat. It wasn't exactly the most safe and sterile place for the babies to be born, but at least an ambulance had been called and they did everything they could while they waited.

"Chlo…" Aubrey grunted, barely able to speak. "If I bleed out, if they can't save me…" She began and Chloe rolled her eyes.

"You're not dying! Do you hear me? So knock it off with this cliche stuff, or I'll personally sew your womb closed myself!" Chloe snaps fiercely and it startles everyone.

Chloe had seen some things in her lifetime. She had watched her God-daughters birth, she had battled cancer, she had watched her baby sister stumble head-first down the stairs at two years old, bleeding profusely. So blood and death didn't scare her. She learned to fight head on whatever was thrown at her instead of running in fear. At least in that moment she was feeling fearless and invincible even though she knew it truly wasn't in her hands, but God's. Where was that attitude when she was sick?

She knew she couldn't promise Aubrey anything but hadn't wanted her to feel afraid. Aubrey deserved comfort and reassurance, not false promises. But they had hope and confidence that she'd be okay. She get there and have the babies and have a blood transfusion. Then hours later she'd dote over her babies while joking about how she'd never have another baby. They knew Aubrey was a hard shell to crack, that she might have been determined to have at least one more, but who knew. Maybe fear would keep her from having more.

"Um guys…" Beca finally breaks the ice, glaring at the other two in fear as their eyes meet the same thing.

One of the babies heads' had presented itself, and they had no idea if that meant that the placenta had burst, or if it had moved. They actually had no idea how it was possible, but they saw the head, followed by a blue lipped baby, cord around its neck. They didn't know if he was alive after coming out with the cord on his neck but would fight like crazy to help them.

"Don't move him! Just try and loosen the cord! We don't want it to choke him further as he comes out!" Chloe instructs quickly and Beca felt the world spin, unable to imagine how Aubrey probably felt.

"Well we can't just leave him hanging halfway out!" Beca deadpans.

"You could do a C-section, right?" Grant stammers, turning to Chloe and Beca shoots him a look as if he was the dumbest person on earth. "You're a vet so that like a doctor. It could save them both."

"She's going to go vet school, but the work on mostly cats and dogs! It's not the same, Dingus Khan!" Beca snaps and his face turned bright red.

They hear the ambulance in the distance and know it won't be long but fear that Grant was right. An emergency C-section would save her life. But this wasn't 'Grey's Anatomy' (which is was clear to Beca they clearly watched too much of).

"Chloe, what do we do?" Beca tries to see over her shoulders.

"I've managed to squeeze my hand between his neck and the cord to relieve some pressure, but I'm still trying to get it to slide easily over his neck. I have no idea how the other twin is doing. But I'm not sure if delivering him and cutting the cord, or leaving just his head out is better because it seems to be helping the bleeding and the baby is still breathing."

It then dawned on Beca that she had an old, handheld doppler in her closet that she only used a few times with Maisie. She had received it from Lily (who claimed it could transmit secret soundwave codes to talk to the baby like an alien) and Beca had felt a little weirded out by it. Beca used it religiously after she had the appendectomy, but other than that, had set it away when she had received some unsolicited advice that it could actually harm the baby.

"What about my old doppler? We could use that to monitor the baby." Beca suggests and Chloe nods approvingly.

"Good idea! We can monitor them while we wait." Chloe agrees as she takes a towel from Grant, cradling the baby's head in it. "It's okay little guy, we've got you." She reassured the infant, watching his lips quiver as a good sign.

When Beca runs into the house she finds Maisie asleep on the bed, and for a split second she felt a twinge of guilt for being that parent who put her kid in front of the tv to sleep, let alone leave her alone in the house.

She scooped up the little girl and brought her outside, setting her in a lawn chair that had been out there for ages. Beca hated how it made their lawn look trashy, but Chloe loved to sit in the sun with Maisie lately. Grant sat beside the little girl, watching as the two women fought to help his wife, hiding pretty well that they were scared too.

"Here's the doppler." Beca pants and Chloe thanks hers.

Chloe instructs Beca to spread vaseline that she had found, spreading it over Aubrey's now exposed stomach and searching frantically for a reassuring, strong heartbeat. It was whirring like crazy, but without a screen, she didn't know which twin they were listening to. But by deductive reasoning that the other baby was already halfway out, the other baby was okay.

"The other baby is okay, how's twin 'A'?" Beca asks.

"He's pinking up, but his lips are still blue." Chloe fearfully informs her.

Just then the ambulance pulled up and three men and a gurney jumped out, the intern behind them pausing in shock. One of the EMT's snapped at him, instructing him to help. The rolled right up to the open van door, finding Chloe cradling the baby's upper body with one hand and her hands laced between the neck and cord to relieve pressure.

"I'm trying to relieve pressure, but I'm not sure if it's helping. He seems to be turning back to normal color but his breaths are still shallow and slow." Chloe informs them, feeling as the EMT worked to take the responsibility away from her.

"Well you did good! But we're gonna need to get his cord off his neck and deliver him. There's so many things that could have and probably infected him and his mom with, so we're gonna need you to help us." The EMT instructed and Chloe felt her heart palpitate.

Chloe listened closely even though she felt that his voice was distant. She looked to Beca for reassurance and Beca smiled.

"Chloe, you've been to Hell and back. This is your chance to do good, to help, to be in control. You can help save this baby and Aubrey but you're gonna have to be brave. Not "superhero" brave, but "I've kicked cancer in the butt and I've had radioactive drugs running through my veins so nothing scares me." brave!"

"Beca, I can't have this responsibility! I'm only human! And honestly, I'm not brave."

"You're wrong. You're strong and brave, and tough. You've endured far more pain than what's fair for one person but you've come out the other side and now it's your turn to believe that there's good in the world. You know better than anyone that life is a gift so start acting like it!"

Beca's eyes held a certain firmness that matched the sternness in her voice. Beca wasn't usually tough on Chloe but when someone else's, when two other's lives depended on her, she wanted Chloe to stop thinking for a second and just do. To stop being afraid of "What if?" and think "Do it now.".

"Don't overthink Chloe, don't be afraid. Just do! Take a deep breath and do it!"

Chloe moves her hands the way the paramedic informs her, guiding her hands to slip the cord over the head and away from the neck. They then delivered the baby, placing him in Chloe's arms as they snipped the cord and wrapped him in a foil blanket. He didn't let out a cry.

He was breathing though they didn't know his brain function because of how long he had been deprived of a good airflow. But when his tiny hand stopped gripping Chloe's, she watched in horror as they set him on the gurney to perform CPR. She heard his tiny ribs crunch under the fingertips of the paramedic, watching in horror as they yelled at each other for an intubation kit, and at the intern. No one knew if he was going to be okay or if Chloe had done the right thing. Of course she wasn't a doctor but if she couldn't get the cord off the best thing she could've done was relieve the pressure.

"Reynolds! Help Charlie load the mom on the other stretcher! She's lost a lot of blood." He demands.

Aubrey lay unconscious in her seat, long passed out from the pain and adrenaline warn off. Everyone watched as they found a weak pulse and hooked her up to an IV. She was very unstable and they all knew that it wasn't looking good. Beca hadn't even noticed that Aubrey had stopped gripping her hand because she had been caught up in the moment, but seeing her friend pale and bloody broke her heart.

"Is she gonna be okay? Is Aubrey okay?!" Chloe screams with heavy sobs over everyone and Beca rushes to her, hugging her arms to her side from behind.

Maisie had long since woken up from the commotion, crying in overwhelming confusion and fear, screaming her little lungs out. Grant had left with the paramedics and the neighbors had come to their porches, stretching all the way to the end of the block to see what was going on. Beca had felt overwhelmed, needing to tend to both parties.

"Maaaaa-ma!" She wailed, traumatized from everything around her.

The ambulance packed up and left, leaving a bloody mess on their driveway and front long. Neighbors eventually went back inside and things quieted, but Chloe still say on the end of the driveway, sobbing as she lay back against Beca who was rocking her back and forth. The ambulance had been there in five minutes and left in five more, but it felt like a terrifying, neverending freefall into an abyss.

" _Please God, don't let Aubrey or her babies die."_ Chloe prayed to silently to herself.

"It's okay… They've got her. All we can do now is wait and pray." Beca cries silently behind her, feeling a set of little arms wrap around her neck.

"C'mere Peanut." Beca scooted back, placing the little girl in her arms too to console her.

Beca felt terrible that even in the heat of a moment she had forgotten about her own child. She felt selfish that she had tended to Chloe first, not even noticing when Grant had left. She left her screaming child a few feet behind her bawling and quivering, instead, fighting to keep Chloe from running after the ambulance.

"I'm sorry baby. Momma is so, so sorry. I love you so much." Beca cried harder, unable to forgive herself for choosing between the people she loved.

Maisie shook in her mother's arms, looking up at her with forgiveness, innocent blue, doe like eyes pooled with tears. Her lips quivered and voice wavered as she reassured her momma.

"It 'kay, momma. Shhhh." She accidentally spits on Beca as she tries to console her momma and Beca cried harder.

"How'd I get so lucky?" Beca whispered, her heart full to bursting as the three of them sobbed together at the end of the driveway, not caring how crazy they probably looked.

 **-XXX-**

It was crazy how much life changed; Just two weeks ago the Bella's were at the Zoo with Maisie, ready and excited to spend time together again outside of just rehearsals. Now they were all in the E.R, waiting for updates on Aubrey and the baby. Anything.

Chloe worried for her friend and her babies. Had Chloe helped them or done more damage than good? She couldn't handle the destructive thoughts that even though she was trying to do good, she could have killed them all. Would Aubrey understand? Chloe laughed to herself inappropriately when she remembered one thing. Aubrey being obsessed over the USO's until she became pregnant.

In a heartbeat her every worry was on her babies. Delivering them healthy so she could go to the USO's. Having a C-section would only put a wrench in that and Chloe wouldn't be surprised when Aubrey woke up if that would be the second thought on her mind. Her babies first of course and herself last.

" _If. If she wakes up."_ Chloe corrected herself before shaking it out of her head.

The baby had literally been strangled by the cord, his head outside of Aubrey with it tangled. She had no idea how to baby had survived being born (Or at least made it out of Aubrey) when he had been suffocated like that. It felt impossible and if they were in a hospital and had examined her, they'd know that they needed an emergency C-section. But that wasn't an option, they could only try to remove the estranged cord that was only further tightened by the journey.

So Chloe held his head, putting her fingers between his neck and the cord to relieve pressure and hopefully be able to get it off without cutting the cord. The paramedics had delivered him anyways, and he didn't look good. And neither did Aubrey.

But they assured her that she had done fine, that the cord would have only choked him further if she had delivered them herself. She wasn't trying to be a hero, she was a human being doing what any sensible person would do. She wanted to save a life.

Aubrey had not only passed out from the agonizing pain of Chloe holding a half-born child out of her birth canal, but from losing so much blood from the abruption of her placenta. It was a wonder how any of them made it there alive, and they had yet to hear if they were in the same, better, or worse condition. No one heard anything for a long time. But by the grace of God they had survived the journey to the hospital.

" _Please God, tell me I didn't kill my best friend trying to help her._ " Chloe whispers to herself and Beca feels her heart break.

"Chloe, you didn't do anything wrong. You did everything you knew or thought was right to do, but at a certain point it was out of your hands. She was in bad condition when Grant brought her and it had already burst so basically all we did was damage control." Beca tries to comfort her.

Why Grant had thought to bring Aubrey to their place instead of to the hospital straight away was beyond anyone. Was he not able to think clear enough or is it because anytime they had a problem that the girls were together? He should have called an ambulance first at least, then had the girls go over there instead of trying to move her. How much was she bleeding when he had brought her over?

When Grant and Aubrey had first got married, Aubrey had gotten her period the week they came back from their honeymoon and poor naive Grant (bless his freakin' heart) didn't know how to handle the mood swings or cramps, or even get her what she wanted. So he had dropped her off at Chloe and Beca's while he had gone to the store to figure it out. The girls had laughed at him, popping open a bottle of champagne and curling up on the couch together.

" _He's not 'the sharpest tool in the chandelier', as he would put it." Aubrey laughed as she poured another glass._

" _Isn't it '_ _tool_ _in the shed'?" Chloe asked as she passed it to Beca who declined, gesturing to Maisie as a reminder that she shouldn't drink._

" _He doesn't know that; But it's kinda cute when he says it wrong, so I don't correct him." Aubrey laughs mid-sip._

" _He's a real winner, you got there." Beca muttered sarcastically as she bounced Maisie on her lap, watching her flash her new, toothy grin._

And amid her thoughts of the past, how Grant may not be the smartest but is definitely the most affectionate boyfriend who balanced out with Aubrey very well,and how they made a great team, Chloe was startled out of her thoughts by her phone ringing. She groaned at the unfortunate timing before suddenly shooting Beca eyes of terror.

Her phone had been ringing all day and she hadn't had a chance to see who it was because she had set it to go straight to voicemail. When she finally turned off her 'Do Not Disturb' she was bombarded by several missed calls and voicemails. She wondered if Beca had the same thing on her phone, but remembered that she had turned hers off too.

"What? What is it Chlo?" Beca senses her worry but is cut off by the sound of Chloe answering her phone.

"Oh my gosh! No… no! Why of all things does this have to happen to us?!" Chloe screams overdramatically into the other end.

"What is it?!" Beca demanded to know, whining like a child.

"Thank you so much for helping out and doing everything you could. We're sorry and we'll definitely be there!" Chloe responds and Beca's eye grow wider. "Thank you! I'll see you tomorrow and hopefully everything will work out."

Chole clicks off her phone and shoves it into her purse, trying to stay calm because everything else felt like it was spinning out of their control and at least at this one thing they felt they had a shot.

"That was Gina! We missed our custody hearings! Beca, she says it doesn't look good but we still have a chance if we show up tomorrow to make up for it. But she says we have to fight really hard because showing up by herself today didn't make you look too good!" Chloe informs her fearfully and Beca was confused.

"They can't possibly give anything to Jesse! He hasn't been around for Maisie at all except for her birthday! Honestly, he's only a sperm donor! He may be biologically related but it doesn't make him her father."

Beca was furious! At herself for forgetting something so crucial, at Jesse for making this even happen! What did he really want? Was he taking revenge on Beca for leaving him? Did he even want Maisie or did he want to hurt Beca by taking what she loved most? It felt like a truck had hit her out of nowhere and it stung as she struggled to grasp that the day she had feared most for the last few months was here.

Why was it that when something good was finally happening, something else had to come along to crush it?

"Beca, breathe! We can meet with her tomorrow before the hearing to figure out our game plan but you have to trust that Gina is a great lawyer too! She knows what she's doing! Beca, Maisie isn't going anywhere, and any smart judge will see that Jesse is just using Maisie to get even. And no good father who actually cared for his child would use them as a pawn, as leverage." Chloe reassures her and Beca began to sob in her arms.

Beca sat on the couch, Maisie in her lap as Beca struggled to take off the little girl's shoes. She allowed Maisie to be independent and try to put on her shoes even if it too a little extra time because Beca always had to flip them around, putting the shoes back on the right feet since Maisie always mixed them up.

"You're gonna be good for Aunt Amy today, right Peanut?" Beca asked rhetorically and Maisie obediently nodded.

"Yes, Mama." Her little voice echoed.

Chloe walked into the room, fiddling with her blazer and tugging at her pencil skirt, pulling it down from underneath her boobs. She looked fierce, ready for any battle she faced. Her hair looked a bit crooked but they were both so nervous that Beca didn't say anything.

Beca lifts Maisie from her laugh, letting the little girl put her toys in her backpack as Beca grabbed her coat. The chilly November day was no match for anything that was going to come their way.

"Chlo, don't you think you're a little _too_ dressed up? Jesse isn't fighting you." Beca laughs as she helps Chloe fix her wig.

"Maisie is just as much my child and him having her would affect me just as much as you. You're not in this alone Beca, I consider her my family and daughter too!" Chloe snapped incredulously.

They both had an ailing feeling in the pit of their stomachs', unable to keep the ambiance of a calm, non-threatening aura for Maisie. If they were stressed, so would be Maisie. They didn't want to give away the bleak façade they had been keeping all morning.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Maisie perked up, the blithe attitude of the little girl radiating off of her and made Beca feel a little more relaxed because if her daughter was happy, she should try to be as well. If only Beca could be that oblivious to the big, mean, world around them. All she cared about in that moment was her excitement towards her first big girl sleepover at Aunt Amy's.

"Aunt Amy is here!" Chloe sang as she answered the door, trying to lift the tension.

Beca helped Maisie put her arms through the straps of her backpack, watching as the little girl excitedly took off towards the door, literally jumping into Amy's arms as Amy picked her up and hoisted her on her hip.

"How about we bake Aunt Aubrey some cookies at my house?" Amy gave Maise a congenial smile and the little girl clapped excitedly.

Amy turned to Beca and Chloe, sounding apologetic despite the blasé expression on her face.

"Good luck, Shawshank. You've got this! Maisie and I will be waiting for you when you get back."

Beca felt tears sting the back of her eyes, wondering if she were ever going to see Maisie again, even though she felt it that no sensible judge would just give their daughter to the man who was in an out of her life. Chloe was more of a dad than Jesse, Chloe wanted to legally adopt her and was finally written as a guardian with power of decision making (without Beca having to pass away to do so). Chloe was more of a Godparent and didn't offer ultimatums at the expense of anyone, or a marriage.

"I love you, Peanut; Like Peanut Butter loves Jelly." Beca hugs the little girl, holding her head in her shoulder.

"Beca, you're squishing her." Amy warns but Beca ignores her.

"Becs, we gotta go." Chloe finally pulls her away, having to drag the brunette to her car.

"I'll keep you updated on Maisie and Aubrey!" Aunt Amy calls after them, trying to appease Beca and her nerves.

Amy carried Maisie out to the car where Stacie was waiting as well, sitting with her puppy in the front seat, his tail wagging profusely in excitement when he saw the girls heading to the car. Stacie got out and helped Amy install the carseat in the back of Amy's car, letting Beca and Chloe go back inside to relax before having to leave. They decided they'd leave early to have plenty of time to get there.

On the way to the courthouse Beca couldn't stop crying, heaving and shaking until Chloe had to pull over, bringing her into a gas station bathroom to help her clean up. Chloe wiped her eye makeup gently from her eyes with makeup wipes in her purse and then grabbed Beca into an all encompassing hug, feeling her sobs and breathing slow down. She had a hurricane of feels, lost in a cloud of guilt, anxiety, anger and more.

Once Beca stopped crying Chloe offered to help her tidy up. She whipped out her eyeliner, applying in gently and subtly to look professional, followed by light lipstick and eye shadow, and finishing with mascara that made Beca's eyelashes look big with authority.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Chloe finally asked after working in silence and Beca nodded.

"We're gonna be late." Beca tried to avert the attention from just her, turning to the watch that was sitting fancy on her wrist.

"You look fierce!" Chloe laughs reassuringly, "We're going to kick butt today." Chloe smiles and hugs Beca one more time.

Beca tried to think positive, to believe that everything would work out in her favor. She knew not to be overly confident or cocky, that there was still the possibility that Jesse would get her, but the whole thing felt pointless. But who knew whether or not Jesse had come up with a lawyer just as good as Gina. What things would he say about them? How did he even have a case against them that made it to court when he hadn't showed up until a few months ago.

"Beca? Are you ready?" Chloe startles her from her thoughts, outreaching her hand and helping Beca out the door to the car.

Beca felt like in that moment, her life was going to change forever regardless of what the outcome would be.

Amy helped Maisie up onto a step stool, gathering all the ingredients to make chocolate cookies while Stacie tied an apron around the little girl's waist, three sizes too big. The apron fit Stacie just right because of her big bust, but on the little girl it looked like a wedding dress with the train in the front. Stacie couldn't help but laugh as she took a picture of the little brunette, apron around her waist and measuring cup in hand.

"Did you hear anything from Beca and Chloe yet?" Stacie asks as she cuts open a bag of chocolate chips and secretly slips some to Maisie as if Fat Amy would object.

Maisie stuffs them all in her mouth, moaning in satisfaction as the chocolate melted in her mouth, and it became clear that more of the ingredients (including the cookie dough) would make it to their mouths rather than cookies.

"Chloe only texted me to tell me they were on recess, but Beca had an anxiety attack earlier. Poor shorty, this whole situation is crappy, as if she didn't already have enough stuff happening to her." Fat Amy voice ached with empathy for them and the little girl who was caught in the middle.

Maisie happily squealed as she tossed flour into the air, happily covered in the white powder and laughing hysterically. Despite the dampened and dark mood Amy laughed, wishing that she could be that carefree. Also she quickly realized that if they kept dwelling and goofing off that there would be no cookies to bring Aubrey.

"Alright Mais, can we mix the dough together?" Amy helps her mix the spoon, eventually letting her do it herself.

They finished mixing the dough and Amy showed her how to ball up the dough, but more of it made it to Maisie's mouth than on the baking sheet. They would be done in about ten minutes and Fat Amy texted Grant to see if Aubrey was awake yet.

She had been in a coma since the day before, but there was hope that she'd wake up. Her vitals were good and brain activity was great, but with all the blood loss she was exhausted and her body was put into a coma to protect itself from the pain and trauma. They wanted to keep her asleep to help recovery along and monitor her until she was in better condition so after her surgery the day before they put her into a medically induced coma. She had lost a great amount of blood, ¼ of her blood volume they had guessed.

The babies were in the NICU, the second baby was stable but had a long recovery ahead of him, but his brother who had been born with a cord around his neck was fluctuating all over the board. His lungs were undeveloped, he had broken ribs, and his brain damage was unknown. He had machines breathing for him, he was on ecmo, the machine shaking his body as it worked to pump blood throughout his body.

Aubrey's placenta had come detached from the uterine wall, causing her to bleed profusely. The baby had been born with the cord wrapped firmly around his neck but fortunately it hadn't tightening on his journey out. By delivering him they were able to get it off by cutting the cord to free it from his neck, but Chloe had no way of knowing that since she wasn't a doctor. She did the right thing by waiting for help, and leaving the baby in also helped slow the bleeding.

Aubrey would be devastated when she woke up, and any added stress was unnecessary. The boys were put together for warmth and growth because studies showed that multiples were more likely to thrive when with each other because it simulated the womb. Skin to skin contact was not an option for Aubrey and the boys right now.

"He says we can come whenever, but the doctors will be in later to check the babies and Aubrey's function."

Amy texts him back before shoving her phone back in her pocket, and helps Maisie down from her stool, giving her a play broom to help sweep up the mess. Maisie was at the age where she loved to help and loved replication things she saw her elders do. She was insistent on helping and Amy adored her.

Maisie clumsily slid the broom over the mess, really only scattering and making it worse but Amy loved to let her believe she was helping. She would actually clean the mess later, but for now it kept her busy. Stacie was washing dishes in the sink, trying to make small talk to keep their minds off the inevitable: The possible bad outcomes. Aubrey and the babies don't get better, Beca and Chloe don't keep Maisie.

"What do you think Aubrey and Grant will name the babies?" Stacie tried to avert the talk from bad to good.

Everyone loved talking baby names, and loved giving suggestions. It was a happy thing, talking about and giving them names as if nothing was going bad. They needed names it was inevitable no matter what.

"Something exotic, eccentric, out of the norm. It's Aubrey, for goodness' sake!" Amy laughs and Stacie agrees.

Maisie yawned and stretched her tiny arms over her head, leaning onto Fat Amy as her eyes fluttered heavily. She clumsily fumbled with her thumb in her mouth, wanting not to give into sleep because she was stubborn but Amy knew it was probably best that Maisie would get a nap. The cookies had time to cool and Amy and Stacie could get their things together before leaving.

Meanwhile, Beca and Chloe met up in a conference room with Gina, going over their crazy morning in court. Beca sat with a box of tissues in her lap and some balled up in her fists. Her eyes were red and baggy. She had been trying not to cry all morning out of anger and fear at everything that had been said to her and about her. About Maisie, the innocent little girl stuck in the middle and Chloe, who was unfairly the third wheel caught in it all.

"That was absolutely dirty and all sorts of illegal for them to drag Chloe's cancer into this for any reason!" Beca was livid, snarling through the tears.

"Technically they can say whatever they want, as long as they don't lie under oath." Gina reminds her calmly, annoyed but still confident.

Chloe was quietly holding Beca's free hand, trying to keep her calm because she feared that Beca would hop out of her chair and down the hall to Jesse's conference room. She had a bit of anxiety going into the courtroom, but eventually felt more pent up anger as the day went on. She felt defeat and fear but she knew that Judge Croon was smart.

"Ladies, they're gonna try to hit us where it hurts. They're gonna present things we didn't know they even had. But it's important that we don't crack under pressure, and that we stay silent until it's our turn to speak. Don't react, don't talk over them or Judge Croon."

Gina looks firmly to them both, waiting for them to nod in understanding and they do so. She then slides down some paperwork and pens, taking them through their next plan. They didn't know how many days court would be in session, but they had to stay strong, stick to their plan.

"Judge Croon is waiting for you." A head pops in the room to inform them.

 **-XXX-**

"And you are?" Jesse's lawyer, Andrew Jameson, asked Chloe as she took the stand.

"Chloe Beale." Chle responded on autopilot, trying to bury her nerves.

Beca nervously tapped her fingers together as she watched them cross examine her, looking for a place to break her. Beca had yet to take the stand, Gina told her she would be able to give her side last. It was a strategy to see if her story matched up, to see if they could break her. But to bring Chloe into this, it was just dirty.

"What is your relation to Maisie Swanson-Mitchell?" Jameson asked.

"I'm her Godmother, but earlier this year I legally adopted her. I have equal parenting rights as Beca and more than Jesse since he technically forfeited his." She answers robotically.

"So you didn't give birth, and you and Beca aren't, together?" Jameson interrogated.

"Objection! Relevance." Gina interrupted and the judge waved her down.

"Overruled. Jameson, get to the point." Judge Croon encouraged.

"When you decided to come around and steal Jesse's role as a parent, decided that it would be you and Beca…" He began only to be cut off.

"I didn't decide to just come around! I wanted to be there for Beca after Jesse left her, it was never a question about it! There was nothing to steal, he made his decision and I wanted to be there for her! To help raise her whether she was my biological kid or not! So if you're implying I'm any less of her guardian or parents because of how I entered her life, I'm gonna have to stop you right there!"

"My client had stated that he asked her to come with him, but she stayed because of you! You seem to be the common denominator in this story! It seems that you're the one Beca was more worried about and was a distraction to her, all the way up to when you started cancer treatments. Beca's focus has only been on you and making you happy. She didn't care that Jesse was just as involved in the making and parenting of Maisie as you feel you are."

Chloe felt anger bubble up in her chest, wanting to hop down from the stand and beat the living daylights out of Jesse's lawyer just to wipe the smug looks off of his and Jesse's face. He had no right to imply that she was less of a mother to Maisie than Beca, that she was a distraction, then accuse her of destroying Jesse and Beca's relationship with her cancer and all around presence. But instead she calmly stared into his eyes, folding her hands neatly in her lap.

"Your honor, he's badgering the witness." Gina stands up in Chloe's defense."

"Sustained! Jameson, last warning." Judge Croon warned him.

"Can you deny that part of Beca's decision to stay in Barden had to do with you?" Jameson asks again.

"She didn't go because it was her senior year of college! She was pregnant, and she had twenty-four credits to finish! Her decision to not go with had nothing to do with me, but the fact that she wanted to finish college so that she could be able to focus on her family and getting a job to make money! She was looking out for her unborn child's future! If Jesse truly cared about them, he would have stayed."

"He should give up his dreams to stay with her and her best friend?" Jameson implied.

"Your ex wife having a baby doesn't make you a parent! You might have 'Fathered' the baby inside her but if you ask me, it's actions that make you a father. Not words! And no good dad would imply that his child ruined his chances at being happy. If you cared you would have happily stayed! You made your choice, but you're no more than a sperm donor! I'm more of a father than you are!" Chloe barked at Jesse, and Beca sort of laughed at the idea of Chloe calling herself "the dad".

Chloe felt anger run out on her lips and taking a quick deep breath after realizing it, afraid the judge would chasten her. Jesse sat on his side of the room, smiling after he realized that she was close to cracking. To proving unfit to help parent his child.

"So, you're being hypocritical and saying that words don't make you a parent, but you had to go out and get a legal piece of paper saying that you could make decisions regarding a child that isn't yours?" Jameson tests her, riling her up.

"Okay, that's just offensive. Are you implying that adoptive parents aren't technically parents then too since they sign papers? Even though quite clearly they are the ones fit for the child, the ones who are going to raise a child when the real parent is unable or unfit to? Because that would be offensive to any adoptive parent in this room. And if you ask me, Maisie is loved and well cared for by many people who are around more than just once in a blue moon. You had your chances, and you didn't show unless you wanted something or saw a weak spot."

"Like your cancer? That was a weak spot? Ms. Beale, did you ever feel like there was a time maybe you were unfit to parent Maisie? Or that you wanted to put your interests ahead of her?" Jameson implies again.

"Like having cancer was an interest? NO! Even with cancer I was able to take care of her and Beca. She was happy and fed and never once did I just leave them to take care of myself. Never once did I leave and then only come back for her when I felt like it. And I certainly never used Maisie as leverage or an ultimatum to get what I want. I never used Maisie or Beca as a pawn to get what I want, or to get rid of Jesse. And it makes me sick to think that he doesn't want Maisie, he just wants me out of the picture so he can finally have what he wanted. Control!"

Jameson could see that Chloe had broke, sweat beading on her forehead and was happy to see that she had lost her calm. He wanted to prove she was unstable, that maybe she was unfit to be a parent.

"Do you always get this easily upset?" Jameson asked with a smirk.

"Only when idiots imply that I'm less of a mother because I didn't give birth, or that somehow the chemo turned me into an illiterate, less competent person, friend, and mother."

"Thank-you. That is all." Jameson sits back by Jesse and Chloe hops down from the stand, returning to Beca and Beca sets her hand back on her shoulder.

Judge Croon straightens her glasses, clearing her throat before addressing the court.

"Court is adjourned for the day. We will gather tomorrow at ten to hear the final testimonies and make a decision." She finally announces and Beca sighs, feeling relief that she at least had tonight with Maisie.

Tonight could be her final night with her child. The one she saw grow before her very eyes, take her first steps, her smile for the first time. The one that had said "momma" first to Chloe much to her dismay but Beca hadn't cared less because she had finally said her first word. And Beca couldn't bear not seeing the rests of her firsts. She couldn't bear the thought of Jesse taking those from her undeserved because all of a sudden he decided they had beef. He was the one to present the divorce papers, there was evidence of that. How could they deny that?

" _Your honor, if you'd take a look at these papers…." Jameson had laid them up on the stand, passing copies to everyone. "It shows a page that Beca had missed a part of a sign and print for her name on the divorce. It seems like she was, hesitant?"_

" _That's ridiculous! My client had a lot going on! A child, an estranged ex, a friend with cancer. There is no proof that she was hesitant towards divorcing him. And she'd be more than happy to finish signing those papers if that's what you're searching for." Gina objected._

" _If she was too busy and distracted to sign papers, what does that say about her parenting? Was she too tired to feed her child, or to remember to bring her with to cancer treatments? Did she ever leaving her child in the car with the windows rolled up?"_

" _Objection! There's no evidence to support this!" Gina denied._

" _Overruled! Jameson, we're trying to hear you out. Get to the point." Croon warned._

" _If she was too distracted to do something as simple as sign papers, how can she balance the needs of her child in the future? Case closed." Jameson quickly adds before sitting down._

Beca remembered that morning, fearful that they had something else they could just pull out of their back pocket to make her seem like bad mother, to talk Jesse up. They had nothing but talked about how bad of a person, how selfish Beca was, but Gina only talked about how manipulative he was being. She didn't bring him down, only presented evidence that he wasn't in it for the family. That he was only seeking something from Beca. A prenup maybe? Maybe this whole thing was for money.

"I'd like to know why if they knew they were unsigned still, that they wouldn't bring them to you to finish if they weren't looking for something in return. They used that against you, and Jesse is still legally married to you. But we have proof that he illegally withheld your right to a divorce from you if he knew that they weren't fully signed. We've got him and all his fraud in the bag." Gina reassures them.

"Can we get child support? If he truly cared he would have sent something for Maisie. But all the times he did show up like at her birthday, it was to offer Beca an ultimatum. He never mentioned wanting to be there for Maisie. Is there enough evidence to support that?" Chloe suddenly remembers and Gina shakes her head.

"Judge Croon keeps hearing that point! We need something to prove it, or we're just a broken record that she'll dismiss." Gina mused as she rubbed her chin. "We'll talk more tomorrow, I want you both here an hour early. Until then, have a great night."

Gina picked up her suitcase and left, her heels clicking down the hall as she left Beca and Chloe in the quiet conference room. Beca shook uncontrollably, and Chloe just hummed to herself. Chloe was like the sister who had jumped in after her siblings were orphaned, but not because it was written in the will.

She had jumped in not just because the Bella's looked after each other, but because she wanted to be Beca's family. She wanted to be Maisie's aunt that was so close with her that she was a second mom. It was the Bella's, a sisterhood for life. For the long run. They would be like pseudo parents to each other's children. It was more than an oath, they were family. Blood wasn't family.

"We're gonna get her Beca. Maisie is your daughter and no one can prove you to be neglectful elsewise."

Beca could see that Chloe loved Maisie as her own, and Beca was her sister. It was like they had been raised together and siblings all their lives. There were no awkward romantic feelings, it wasn't weird that Chloe loved them and wanted to be a mother to Maisie. Other people judged them, but Chloe didn't care. They knew how the family dynamic of the Bella's worked and to them it was normal.

 **-XXX-**

Beca's eyes flew open but even before they did she could tell that it was still dark. She glanced at the alarm clock by her bedside table and saw that it read _2:39 a.m._ With a sigh she tried to roll over and get six more hours of sleep before she had to get up, but she couldn't shake her bad feeling.

The warmth she often felt in her bed from Maisie was gone, Fat Amy had agreed to watch her for the night, it was easier for everyone. They had spent a few hours at Fat Amy's for dinner and to bond, the support of all the Bella's there, but Beca had preferred to go home and cry by herself. She would return in the morning before court to kiss her child goodbye (for now), hoping there was truly nothing to fear.

Beca's back was covered in cold sweats even though she was hot and dizzy. She wanted to puke and felt loss of control over herself as her breathing began to quicken. She couldn't stop it from going so fast, she couldn't take a deep breath to help her get some actual air in her lungs. The oxygen in her body was leaving faster than it could be replenished and she felt light headed. Obviously it was pretty loud because Chloe had run in to find Beca in the corner of her bed by the wall.

"Beca? What is it, Sweetie?" Chloe crawls on the bed beside her, unsure whether or not she wanted to be touched. "Is it okay if I hold you?" Chloe asks for permission and Beca nods in acquiescence.

Chloe allows Beca to curl up in her arms, rocking her back and forth as they wait for the panic attack to pass. It could be short lived or it could last a while but they were in it for the long run. Chloe wouldn't leave and sure as heck hoped Beca would accept hers and the Bella's help. She could already feel the walls going up, and was afraid Beca would lose who she truly was if she lost Maisie. Would Beca have lost touch with Chloe if Maisie hadn't been in the picture?

Chloe shakes the intrusive thoughts, sure that that would never had happened. They were Bella's for life. Not in a weird, romantic kind of way, even though outsiders who didn't understand saw it that way.

"You're okay. Everything is going to work out." Chloe cooes.

Hours later they would sit, their backs unnaturally erect against the courtroom chairs and their hands folded, waiting for the sentence that would change their lives forever…

"I hereby grant sole custody of Maisie Elise Swanson-Mitchell to…"

And Beca froze, feeling all her blood drain and emotion leave her body. She was unable to move, to breathe, and couldn't bear to look Jesse in the eye. She could hear him in the distance but couldn't comprehend what was being said. All she remembered was feeling a hand on her shoulder leading her out of the courtroom and Chloe crying beside her. She remembers feeling scared, and that's the last thing she remembered but not the only thing on her mind. Maisie was the only thing on her mind.


	17. It is how it is

"Hey, you're awake." Beca smiles, hovering over the end of her bed with Maisie on her hip, rubbing Aubrey's leg with her free hand.

Aubrey offers a weak smile and a half-hearted laugh. She sounded exhausted, weak, and slightly overwhelmed from the company, but nonetheless was happy her family was there. Chloe sat by her bed, stroking her sweaty hair from her face and saw that it looked more narrow than usual.

She had just had twins and looked as thin as she did before she was pregnant. It was all a trick of the lighting and how small she looked buried in the covers of the hospital bed. She was freezing even though her temperature begged to differ. She hadn't met her boys yet but was happy and sad as she opened the gifts people had brought her.

Her heart was full to bursting and even though she had only been awake for a half a day, and was showered with love. She couldn't ask for anyone better to be by her side than the Bella's.

She cried as she realized she wasn't going to be strong enough to see the boys for a while. They were alone and scared in the NICU, given, Grant was there to hold their tiny hands and take pics (even though the mean night nurse told them they couldn't) and she sobbed in his arms, and again every time the nurses had reminded her when they came to check on her that she couldn't see them yet. She had lost a lot of blood and was being pumped full of replenishing fluids and minerals.

"Have you at least given them names since you know what they look like?" Stacie asked as they all sat around, watching her open presents.

"Naming them would just make it feel more real, but holding them would feel like a dream. I want to meet them first so I can really get a feel of who they are. We have two names, we just don't know who is getting which name. At first it was whoever came out first, but now that doesn't feel right." She informs them.

Leave it to Aubrey to complicate things, but they thought it was sweet that she wanted the names to fit to the boys. They were dying to meet the boys but obviously it as important that Aubrey got to meet them first. They wanted to shower them with love and gifts.

"What are the names?" Fat Amy pressed.

"Lincoln, because the Lincoln center is where we won our first ICCA's together." She informs them and they all coo, touched by the cheesiness but the sweetness in the name.

"And the other twin?" Beca pushed jokingly.

"Reign." She boasts and they looked confused.

"Oh, I get it! Like because we Reigned over the other groups in the finals?" Fat Amy implies, chuckling at her joke and nudging the others to join in but they just shook their heads.

"No, just because it sounds large and in charge! Maybe he'll run an acapella group one day." Aubrey shakes her head as if it should have been obvious.

"Oh…" The Bella's simultaneously mutter, trying not to hurt her feelings.

Flo smiles reassuringly, trying to speak for the entire group and comfort Aubrey. She wanted her to feel confident about her decisions.

"As long as they're healthy. In my family, we all had numbers instead of names so my parents could keep track of us for child labor purposes. It was confusing when one time they accidentally mixed me up with our livestock and I got shipped to the slaughter house."

The Bella's gasped as they all shot Flo a look that told her to clam up. It hadn't been the right thing to say or appropriate timing, but Aubrey laughed, realizing how grateful she had been for all the different personalities they had in the group. It kept her life exciting and less stressful to know she had fun friends that could always cheer her up, whether she was sad or in the mood to laugh.

"It may be the hormones," Aubrey sheepishly smiled at the girls, "But in this moment, I love you all tremendously." She blushed and they awed.

"We should get a group pic!" Chloe exclaims, taking Maisie from Beca, and the others agree.

The girls gathered around Aubrey and Grant began to gently skootch over into the bed beside her and Aubrey shot him an incredulous look.

"What do you think you're doing?" She implied.

"I'm getting in the picture?" He answers dumbly and she shakes her head.

"No honey, no you're not." She nudges him off.

"I'm taking the picture?" He deadpans and grabs her phone without arguing and the other girls laugh at him.

Grant counts to three and the girls sing "ahhhh" on three like they used to. It was a beautiful moment in harmony and it touched their heart that they still had it. It was crazy think that they had gone from unable to harmonizing, to being able to guess each other's next moves. They sang "ahhhh" perfectly and the flash went off, taking the picture.

Beca froze, as if the flash ignited something fearful in her. She suddenly felt like Chloe's arm around her shoulder and Jessica's on her waist was too much, all the commotion was overstimulating. She wanted to get out of there, she couldn't breathe, she felt smothered, not by them but just by all the sensory around her. Her thoughts that she had tried to push away because it was Aubrey's day to shine floated back to the front of her mind.

It was all the Bella's first times seeing Aubrey, wanting to be there when she woke up. They had taken their turns not to overwhelm her yesterday, but now they all just wanted to love on each other. It wouldn't be fair to take away the attention from Aubrey for her own problems. So she excused herself to the restroom down the hall, locking the stall doors and sinking down against the wall.

Her back dragging against the wall and sitting on the floor triggered her tears, followed by all encompassing body shakes and dry heaving. She couldn't catch her breath and felt light headed, but no matter how many times she reminded herself to breathe, it was easier said than done. She couldn't catch her breath, but it came in spurts. She would breath hard and fast for a few minutes, then would calm down for a little bit. But as soon as she thought of everything again, she would be sent back into a downwards spiral.

Beca felt like she was suddenly back in the courtroom, feeling as she had just two days before.

Tomorrow was her final meeting with Gina and Jesse's lawyers. She hadn't expected to see him, but they had to have one final hearing with Judge Croon. They wanted to come to her with a final verdict between the two parties and hoping she would accept. She shook as she thought of that moment two days ago, and how it changed everything…

" _I hereby grant sole physical custody of Maisie Elise Swanson-Mitchel to…"_

 _Jesse's lawyer stood up and interrupted her mid sentence, pulling out his last dirty move that no one saw coming..._

" _Your honor, with all due respect to the decision that's already been made, I'd like to add that the divorce papers have not officially gone through so the child is still legally in care of both guardians." Jameson reminds her before being shot a dirty look._

 _Beca froze, feeling all her blood drain and emotion leave her body. She was unable to move, to breathe, and couldn't bear to look Jesse in the eye. She could hear him in the distance but couldn't comprehend what was being said. All she remembered was feeling a hand on her shoulder leading her out of the courtroom and Chloe crying beside her. She remembers feeling scared, and that's the last thing she remembered but not the only thing on her mind. Maisie was the only thing on her mind._

" _You cannot influence her decision once it's been made. And it's not gonna change the fact that I'm of our clients will get her. We're here to fight for sole custody, not a shared plan." Gina stands, even if it hurt her chances a little to argue with him._

" _That's enough and unprofessional! Sit down, all of you!" Judge croon barks firmly, irritation in her voice._

 _Becas hand was laced nervously in Chloe's, not realizing how sweaty she was and her bottom lip began to bleed as she bit down harder._

" _If that's the way you two want to play, despite my decision, you can either share custody or take this to a higher court. But if you do, they'll probably laugh you out of the courtroom. So what's it gonna be, you two?" Judge croon impatiently taps her fingers in her desk, glaring at the both of them._

" _It's not fair for them to put in more time away from the child. Or put her through this again!" Gina tries to reason, just wanting to hear the decision. "There is a two year old child on the line, caught in a very dirty adult disagreement!"_

" _You can't take my clients child away from him when he legally still can make parental decisions regarding her!" Jameson yelled and things heated up._

" _My client is the birth mom who legally has rights regarding her child from birth. She is competent and able to raise Maisie and have guardians in her life that she sees fit!"_

" _So you're afraid you're gonna lose? Let's end this right now, for the child's sake!" Jameson teases unprofessionally and it angered Gina because she knew that's not why they were there._

 _Judge croon pounds her mallet against the wooden, cup mat shaped thing to her right, demanding the court settle. This was one of the most unprofessional things she had seen and wanted to put a stop to it and dismiss the court._

" _If you want to play dirty, this is how it'll go. I hereby grant temporary shared physical custody of Maisie Elise Swanson Mitchel proceeding now until the divorce is final. I will grant sole physical custody to the right parent."_

 _Beca couldn't believe it, Gina was right. They had waited until the last minute and had come around with one final dirty move. Jesse had gotten what he wanted all along, not necessarily shared custody, but he knew the way he had leverage over Beca, that in the weeks following she might bend to his will and finally cave to what he actually wanted._

 _Nothing he did was for Maisie; Not Maisie but for Beca to ideally follow him and get rid of Chloe and leading up to the final decision of sole custody might get them both back. His sick twisted plan for an inevitable family was finally coming true, and Beca hated it so much._

 _He had plotted this all along, to stand up during the decision and get temporary shared custody from the judge because Beca otherwise would never agree. He knew if he at least got that that he would have a chance at them both. And so far, his plan felt like it was roping Beca in. He was a truly manipulative and selfish man._

 _He knew there was no chance of full custody, so he went with the middle compromise, reverse psychology because he knew that Beca would give into shared custody before she'd actually give up her baby, and now he had both. He knew the court wouldn't grant him full custody so he brought her there anyways with the plan to get shared custody, and maybe eventually Beca. It was an evil plan, but it worked. If he couldn't have Beca, he could at least hit her where it hurt._

Beca heard the bathroom door open, followed by some footsteps and she knew it was Chloe coming to check on her.

"Momma?" Maisie cooed, and Beca's heart pounded harder in her ears, pacing in unsteady beats.

She was followed by the sound of Chloe's brown knee-high boots, and Beca could see her arm green cardigan hanging down to her hips, and the knitted boot socks through the crack in the stall door. Her striped, black and white t-shirt that was half tucked into the front of her jeans with the corner hanging out was coming loose where Maisie would tug at it to get her attention.

"Beca? It was getting crazy in there and I just thought maybe you could use some company in here?" Chloe offered, rapping her knuckled on the stall door.

Beca loved that Chloe didn't always ask her if she was okay, or nag her to talk about it. She knew Beca had walls and they would only continue to build if she pushed. Beca needed a nudge sometimes, but she also needed comfort and an opening. To know that she could talk but they didn't have to do it right away. It made Beca cry harder.

Right now Chloe just wanted to get her attention off of everything. She knew Beca wasn't upset, she didn't need to say it or bring a whole spotlight onto it, they both felt that way. She just needed company and support, family to be there when she was ready to talk. And she was so thankful that Chloe was there that it made her heart hurt. In that moment she believed that everything was going to work out while she held Maisie in her arms.

Amy had brought Maisie to the hospital to see not only Aubrey and the Bella's but her mom again. When Beca had seen her little converse trudge in beside Fat Amy, her little backpack over her shoulders, it had made her want to cry. The thought alone of Maisie going to her first day of preschool in the near future and not being with Beca was the first thought that pushed its way into her mind.

 _Maisie had run over to Beca, being swooped up and scooped into her mother's loving arms, unable to understand why Beca was squeezing so hard. Her mother always hugged her tight, but it was never crushing._

" _Ow, momma." Maisie had muttered, muffled in Beca's shoulder and chest._

" _Sorry baby, it's just… I'm so happy you had fun with Aunt Stacie and Amy this weekend." She smiled, brushing the little girl's hair from her face._

She half squatted to unlock the stall door, letting them in and closing it behind them. She didn't care how weird it would be if someone walked in to see three pairs of feet in the one stall, but she also prayed that no one would come in.

Maisie crawled into Beca's lap facing towards her, her legs wrapping around Beca's waist and she looked her dead in the eyes. Even two year old's could read when something was wrong because it seemed lately that her mother's smile was missing. Her momma wasn't as happy, she didn't read stories as often anymore, and Beca faced motherhood guilt over every little thing she did. All of it had made her cry harder.

"Aw, it's gonna be okay Sweetie! It's all gonna work out." Chloe cooed, brushing Beca's sweaty hair from her flushed face.

Everything had been stressing her out and it had all been for the sake of protecting Maisie. Beca wished Maisie could understand how hard they were all fighting for her. She wanted to shower Maisie with stories and snuggles, she wanted to quit her job permanently, not just having taken a leave of absence that her psychologist recommended when her anxiety had worsened after everything complicated started happening.

She spent months fighting for her daughter, fighting for and comforting Chloe. She never spent a darn minute thinking of herself. The only thing she was passionate for was the happiness of her family. She had become a selfless person, she wasn't as worried about what she just wanted going forward, and it wasn't a burden. To her, it was being a mother, a friend, and a Bella. She knew it sounded corny but that all she ever pushed for. And she had finally hit a wall.

Beca was afraid she was scaring Maisie by crying so heavily all over the little girl's face, and she tucked Maisie's head into her shoulders, trying to muffle the sound. She wanted her daughter always know it was okay to cry, but she didn't want her to see her like this and feel scared.

She wanted Maisie to feel safe and comfortable, but at two years old all she wished was for her daughter to only find and see the good in the world. She wished Maisie could be naïve and blind to the bad, but then she wouldn't know that sometimes you had to be cautious about giving your feelings away. And she didn't want her daughter to be like that.

She wanted Maisie to see the good and be kind to others with a little bit of caution to those who weren't exactly kind. To treat everyone with respect and gratitude and kindness but still march to her own drum and not give into peer pressure. To hang with a crowd of people that will build her up and encourage her to step out of her comfort zone but not to do things that will endanger her. She wanted Maisie to find a group like the Bellas and sincerely hoped she would.

"Sing song? La-by?" Maisie begged, pulled her head from Beca's shoulder.

As a baby Maisie would light up when Chloe, Beca, or the other girls sang to her. She would go from being a red cheeked, angry baby with hot tears down her face to flashing a gummy in a minute. It was how they knew she was truly ill, because she wouldn't light up when she was truly feeling poor, and it was rare that a song couldn't help her lighten up.

The Bella's had written her a lullaby that they had sang to her in the hospital, and Beca had cried so hard that they had recorded it and burnt it to a CD for her. Eventually Beca downloaded it to her laptop so she could make it into an MP3 file for her playlist, playing it on long road trips when Maisie would grow restless and irritable. Maisie was now old enough where she would request it on replay and Beca would tear up, even to this day.

"Can you sing it with us?" Beca encouraged and she looked to Chloe to join them.

Maisie nodded, the sound of her little squeaky voice trying to sing along, even if she couldn't really understand or pronounce the words. Beca sang slowly, helping her repeat after her, until Maisie stopped trying to sing and just hummed along.

"Again!" Maisie cheered, and Beca rocked her back and forth in her arms, waiting for Chloe to go again.

 _Looking like today is something good,_

 _The sun is shining only like it should,_

 _You never know what tomorrow's gonna bring_

 _Oh, but whatever it is I'm going to sing…._

Beca and Chloe smiled at each other as Maisie's toothy grin flashed up at them, amused and content with the harmonizing sound of their voices complementing each other. She loved it when they sang, and Beca loved it too, hoping that Maisie would develop her and Jesse's pipes one day. But for now, she adored the sound of the two year olds little, squeaky, off key voice. But boy did it melt her heart.

" _Oh my, what a wonderful feeling…"_ Beca sang softly, continuing to rock with her child and feeling some of the sadness turn into gratitude.

" _Oooo, I've gotta be dreamin'..."_ Chloe solos, anticipating the next line. " _Feels so good, all I can do is smile…"_

She looks back to Beca, and they sing the last line together.

" _Feels so good, all I can do is smile…"_ They hold onto the last note together, Beca kissing Maisie's forehead.

"Smile!" Maisie's precious voice sings, adding to it after the fact that they were done.

Beca's heart melted as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment of how sappy it really was but inside she didn't really care. Life was a crazy thing: One moment she was on the Bella's bus, hesitant to sing "Party in the USA" because she was too embarrassed to join in at first and felt that it was too corny, to now singing lullabies on the bathroom floor to her two year old daughter. Never in a million years was that where she would have guessed she would have been in six years.

"Tell any of the other Bella's and your riding with the dog carriers on the plane when we finally do go on tour." Beca jokingly warns to Chloe after the moment is gone.

They hear the bathroom door _whoosh!_ open, followed by a couple sets of heavy footsteps on the tile floor.

"Beca? Chloe?" She hears a voice echo from outside the stall door.

It was Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose, they could tell by the pairs of shoes alongside Amy's voice. They had come looking in concern for their friends and wanted to make sure they were okay.

"We just wanted you to know that we're gonna order food in for Aubrey during shift change for the nurses so we can't get in trouble. But we're having group dinner in her room if you're interested." Fat Amy informs them, feeling a bit awkward.

Leave it to the Bella's to try and sneak in food they're not supposed to have for each other, but that's what they did. They weren't an organization, they were family, and family would jump and run through burning hoops (okay, maybe not run, but speed walk), for each other. They liked adventure, they liked feeling like they were breaking the law, or at least hospital rules to keep life exciting.

"Did you get the movie?" Stacie whispered to Flo as she snuck back into the room with the food and the movies.

"In my country, if you weren't quiet as a mouse, you'd be taken for ransom at the border. I've been taken six times." She informs them and their eyes grow in horror.

Were they the Bella's of old? Deep down, yes! They could forget or at least temporarily bury a situation when they came together, finding happiness in singing and bonding. But they also loved this new chapter of their lives, seeing each other grow and branch off into new things, but nonetheless would be supportive of each other and their interests.

And besides, they loved watching each other get married, and job opportunities and having babies because at the end of the day, they would always end up finding each other again.

- **xxx-**

It stung Beca to watch him walk away with her shaky hands in his, her little footsteps loudly pounding on the floor as she struggled to keep him from dragging her with him. Her blood was boiling under her skin, feeling herself clench her fists but Chloe's hand on her shoulder was keeping her from running after them.

Her hand was keeping her from taking Maisie and running off, going into hiding, but she remembered what Gina had said. She had told her not to retaliate to anything he said, to obey Judge Croon's orders so that everything would fall into favor for them.

Beca was reminded that Maisie was only going to be gone until Wednesday when she glanced in the rearview mirror and still saw her car seat tightly fastened to the seat. It was the agreement they had worked out at their mandatory meeting that day. That until the divorce was final they would not have another court hearing and though Beca didn't understand why Judge Croon hadn't waived the whole divorce thing with her authority, there were only so many rules she could bend as a judge, and it wasn't in Beca's jurisdiction to question Judge Croon.

"I don't understand how he can walk out of our lives so long and still end up with temporary custody of her. Justice isn't always fair. He's not gonna be able to fix everything or make up for lost time in two days." Chloe mussed angry as she started the car.

Beca was filled with apprehension, absentmindedly picking at an old scar she had on her elbow. Her eyes were filled to the brim with unshed, angry tears, and her lip bled from biting down so hard on it. She was lost in her thoughts filled with scary scenarios. Her pulse was skyrocketing and she felt like vomiting. No, correction, she was going to vomit!

"Chloe, pull over the car." She held her stomach with one hand and mumbled through her other hand covering her mouth.

The car quickly pulled over alongside the curb of the busy streets, pedestrians who were walking by stopping to see the commotion. They watched as she puked in the patch of grass by the parking meters and continued to dry heave for a few seconds after, vomit dripping from her mouth.

"Are you okay?" She hears Chloe's distant voice, everything around her sounding as if she was underwater.

Chloe's hand on her back helped pull her back in the car, continuing to rub circles until Beca pushed her off. She snapped her seatbelt back on and didn't look back, ignoring Chloe as she tried to comfort her. Beca was angry at the world, resenting people and their perfect families walking by on the sidewalks. She just wanted to go home and curl up in bed, snapping her blinds shut and turning her back to the outside world for the next two days. She wanted to not talk to anyone, not to leave her bedroom or the bed unless to go to the bathroom. The way she saw it, she was in survival mode for the next two days. She didn't want Chloe to watch her fall apart, for anxiety to consume her in its silent jaws.

She didn't want Chloe to watch as she lie in bed, trying to keep perfectly still as she shook anxiously beneath the covers. How she gripped the blankets so hard that her palms had bruises shaped like her fingernails etched into her skin. She didn't want Chloe to see the silent side of anxiety. That it wasn't all "rocking back and forth" and hyperventilating. She wanted Chloe just to believe that she was overly tired, that she was putting up her walls, and to just leave her alone.

Beca wanted to lay in this dark room in silence, she wanted nothing but the warmth of her weighted blanket encompassing her body, and the whirr of her fan in the distance. She felt hot tears roll down her flushed cheeks, bury her head into the sea of pillows around her. It wasn't pretty angry crying like an angsty teen in a movie, it was ugly tears in her red hot eyes, accompanied by all encompassing nausea, only worsened by the thought that this feeling might never go away.

She didn't feel like a person, just a soul looking into the world through glass eyes, fragile and sickened. She felt like she wasn't in her body, it was depersonalization. It was like the only thing that would end it was sleep, but she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, even with the help of sleep aids. Eventually her body would grow tired and she would give in, but that could take all night.

" _She likes to snuggle with the pink- polka dotted blanket in her backpack, usually tucked right under her chin. She loves the feel of the fabric softener we use so she'll rub in on her skin. She gets tired around seven so give it to her then, and lay her down. Her favorite book is in the front pocket, and if you read it to her on the couch, she'll start to fall asleep and it makes putting her in her own bed easier!"_

 _Beca couldn't relax. It was like a complete stranger had swooped in and taken Maisie from her. Actually, he was technically a stranger and poor Maisie didn't deserve to go home with someone she barely knew. She was probably scared out of her mind, confused why her momma, someone she trusted and always loved, was sending her home with this strange man. Usually her momma sent her home with a Bella when she was leaving for work, and it was always someone Maisie loved too._

" _Momma?" Her voice wavered as she hugged Beca's leg, refusing to leave._

" _It's okay baby." Beca ran her fingers through Maisie's hair, carefully rehearsing what she was gonna say to the little girl._

 _Beca couldn't believe a judge would ever allow this. It was cruel and unfair to put a little girl in a situation where she was going home with someone she didn't even know after being in the care of her mother from birth on. Beca and the Bella's were all Maisie ever knew, and the little girl trusted her mom more than anything because to Maisie, Beca was everything, she was her hero. And the way the little girl saw it, her mother would never do anything to endanger her._

" _This is Jesse, he's gonna play dolls and read stories with you while mommy goes away for a little while." Beca reassures her calmly even though she could feel her voice shaking._

" _No, momma! Wanna stay. Wanna stay!" She began to wail, tightening her fingers and digging her nails into Beca's leg._

 _Chloe looked to Beca who was looking at Jesse incredulously. How could he see the distraught little girl and not realize that she was happy and safe where she belonged. That her world didn't deserve to be interrupted and turned upside down, that it was mean to rip her from her mother's safe arms into one's that only sought to hurt her mom._

 _How could he hurt a little girl by breaking her trust in her mother. Didn't he know how long it would be before Maisie could feel safe and reassured from her mother again? This did far more psychological damage than he could have ever possibly imagined. Little kids were the most forgiving but she wouldn't forget. And when scary events happened to little kids it often set them back._

 _Little did Beca know that Maisie would go back on months of potty training and not wetting the bed. That sleeping in her own bed wouldn't be a thing anymore either, even though they spent months boosting her self-esteem by telling her what a big girl she had been in her big girl bed. From that moment on, Maisie would be afraid for Beca to leave her in a room by herself to go to the kitchen without worrying that her mommy was leaving her again. Maisie would become very clingy and distrusting of her mother in their own home._

" _Are you ready, little one?" Jesse asked, sounding very nervous, unemotional, and unattached._

 _His expression wasn't very warm or fatherly. He didn't look like he was actually looking forward to having her in his life as much as he was glad he had this one thing to dangle over Beca. He had won but he didn't boast, he was human after all and wasn't rubbing it in, at least in front of Maisie._

 _Beca prayed that he at least had somewhat of human decency, that he actually cared, but when he had turned over his shoulder as he was leaving with Maisie and smirked at her, her heart sank. This was all just a part of his evil plan to fulfill his "inevitable" family. But why did it have to be Beca?_

" _When Momma?" Maisie had asked for the eighty-fifth time when Beca promised she would be back._

" _When you see momma's black car pull up. On Wednesday."_

 _Beca picked Maisie up, hoisting her up so that the little girl was facing her, her little legs wrapped around Beca's waist. Her glossy doe eyes stared dead into Beca's, and Beca feared that she had broke the little girl's sunny disposition._

" _I love you very, very much. Like Peanut butter loves Jelly." Beca kisses her on the head as Maisie snuggles into her, burying her head in Beca's shoulder._

 _It pained her, but begrudgingly and gingerly handed Maisie to Jesse, she watched in heartbreak as Maisie kicked and screamed, wailing for her mommy to take her back. She dug her heels into the pavement right where they stood, screeching as Jesse tried to drag her along before giving in, just picking her up._

" _No, momma! Help!" She screamed, drawing nasty stares from the rest of the people in the parking lot._

" _I love you! See you soon." Beca attempted to plant one last kiss on her head but instead got nailed in the chin by Maisie's flailing limbs. What kind of mother was she if she couldn't even guard her baby from this?_

 _Chloe put her arm around Beca, leading her back to the car as Beca watched Jesse struggle to fasten her into a cheap car seat that he had bought to throw in his car. It was a last ditch effort to seem like somewhat of a coherent father. And as they drove off, Beca could swear she still heard her little girl's screams through the car windows. But the worst part of it all was Beca was missing her firsts. Maisie's first plane ride, which she had planned for when she was older and could remember it._

 _And most painfully of all, Maisie's second birthday was tomorrow, and her own father hadn't even known. Thankfully to Beca, neither would Maisie, so they could celebrate when she came back without missing a beat. That was a secret she would not let Jesse have the satisfaction of knowing._

 _._


End file.
